SAG-AFTRA Strikes Green Light for Indie Shoots Amidst Hollywood Standoff

In a most recent update, it has been revealed that SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which commenced a strike against Hollywood studios on July 14, has initiated its interim agreements program. This scheme clears a pathway for independent productions unaffiliated to members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to go on with filming amidst the ongoing strike.

Since its strike against the AMPTP over failure to settle on a new film and television contract, the guild has progressively been approving projects for these agreements, allowing actors to work on said projects without breaching the strike order.

Starting from July 27, SAG-AFTRA began advocating casting-specific agreements allowing members to audition and/or engage in talks regarding castings for these productions. However, they are not permitted to travel, rehearse, or start rendering services for the production just yet.

Notable projects on the list so far consist of Angel Studios’ Bible-based series The Chosen; the A24 films Mother Mary and I Dream of Unicorns; and Apple TV+’s Tehran. The roster of actors authorized to continue work under these agreements includes such renowned names as Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, Glenn Close, James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Graham Greene, and Melissa Leo. Furthermore, movies from industry veterans such as Guy Ritchie and Destry Allyn Spielberg have been granted casting agreements.

There are also agreements that authorize films to promote at festivals. One film that stands out in this category is Michael Mann’s Ferrari which is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival by month-end.

In an important twist, on August 14, SAG-AFTRA declared a change in its agreements policy that going forward will exclude WGA-covered projects shot in the U.S. This announcement came following meetings with the Writers Guild. The next day, a clarification came which stated that distributors looking forward to buying films with interim agreements at festival would have to adhere to the terms of these agreements in order to strike a deal.

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Meanwhile, in the back seat of this Hollywood Uber journey, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the whole 'interim agreements program.’ Talk about casting a safety net while on a tightrope. It's like telling an actor, "okay, you can participate in the play, just don't get on stage."

And the A-listers benefiting from this, with trepidation, remind me of high school kids being given a hall pass during detention. Not to mention the amusement of restricting travel and rehearsal - like giving the school sports team approval to train but not play in actual matches.

Michael Mann's Ferrari driving to its world premiere while the strike holds underlines the peculiarity of this Hollywood traffic jam. One wonders if the interim agreements will work as a map guiding us out of it or a detour leading to more complexities and off-street parking.

SAG-AFTRA's updated policy derived from their meetings with the Writers Guild could be likened to the studios setting up roadblocks on their way. Is this an attempt to avoid speeding tickets from the law enforcement of the Guilds or an ingenious move to control the speed of negotiation traffic?

One thing is clear: getting from point A (the launch of the strike) to point B (satisfactory contracts) will involve more twists, turns, and off-ramp excursions than a cross-country road trip. Buckle up - this drive, like LA’s infamous rush hour traffic, is likely to be a long, sprawling one.