Filming on Ariana Grande‘s latest film Wicked has ceased amid a transatlantic strike by actors that began yesterday.
Dramatic photos show the abandoned set in Buckinghamshire after the union representing Hollywood stars ordered members to down tools amid a row over how streaming services are pushing down pay and the increasing use of AI in production.
Pop star Grande is set to portray heroine Glinda the Good in the upcoming film, but signalled her support for the strike on Instagram yesterday by sharing news of the protest.
Other productions underway in the UK, including Deadpool 3, Beetlejuice 2 and Speak No Evil are also set to be affected.
The strike, coordinated by US actors’ union Sag-Aftra, began yesterday, prompting the star-studded cast of upcoming Christopher Nolan epic Oppenheimer to walk out of the film’ UK premiere in London.
Stars including Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh were visibly emotional as they exited the premiere early.
Filming on Ariana Grande’s latest film Wicked has ceased amid a transatlantic strike by actors that began yesterday. Dramatic photos show the abandoned set in Buckinghamshire
Pop star Grande is set to portray heroine Glinda the Good in the upcoming film. Above: Grande on the set of Wicked in June
Director Nolan later said the cast had left the event to ‘write their picket signs.’
Under the rules of a strike, all Sag-aftra members will not be able to film any movie or TV series – which means that almost every show and film that’s currently in the works will be delayed indefinitely until the problem is resolved.
British union Equity, the sister organisation to Sag-aftra, said in a statement that they are are ‘full square behind’ their US counterpart.
However, they said they have been advised that the action is not lawful under UK law, meaning any performer who joins the strike or refuses to cross a picket line in Britain will have no protection if production companies sack them or sue them for breach of copyright.
Wicked’s release date is set for November next year, meaning the halt to production could push that back.
Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, is scheduled to hit screens next May but this date could also now be pushed back.
Speak No Evil is billed for next August, whilst Beatlejuice 2 is meant to be released in September 2024.
Other films that are currently being filmed in the UK include The Radleys, Amateur, and romantic comedy The Gorge, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy.
Filming for Gladiator 2, which started in June, is also partly taking place in UK – as well as in Malta and Morocco – and so could be affected.
Grande signalled her support for the strike on Instagram yesterday by sharing news of the protest
This is the moment the cast of Oppenheimer walked out of the film’s UK premiere on Thursday, as thousands of actors went on the biggest strike to hit Hollywood in 60 years
Leaving! Stars including Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh were visibly emotional as they exited the premiere early
Off they go! Footage from the black carpet showed the cast posing for photos together before making their way back to their hotel in London
Matt Damon signs autographs outside The Corinthia Hotel in London on Thursday night after walking out of the Oppenheimer premiere
Matt Damon arrives back to his hotel in central London after walking out of the Oppenheimer premiere amid a Hollywood strike
Tamsin Egerton in London last night after joining a major Hollywood strike
Josh Hartnett leaves his hotel in London on Thursday night after joining the first major Hollywood strike in 60 years
Florence Pugh arriving back to her hotel in central London on Thursday night after walking out of the Oppenheimer premiere due to strikes in Hollywood
Filming for Gladiator 2, which started in June, is also partly taking place in UK – as well as in Malta and Morocco – and so could be affected. Above: The Gladiator set in Morocco
A number of TV series being filmed in the UK might also be impacted, including spy thriller The Day Of The Jackal starring Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne and period boxing drama A Thousand Blows with Stephen Graham.
The second series of The Sandman with Tom Sturridge and the fourth series of Slow Horses with Academy Award winner Gary Oldman could also be affected.
However, filming for the second series of House of the Dragon, starring Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy, may continue despite the strike, due to the fact that its stars are working under contracts governed by Equity, according to Variety.
At 07.01 UK time, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), representing around 160,000 movie and television actors, tweeted a black picture alongside the message: ’12:01 a.m. PT That’s a wrap!’
‘This is a moment of history, a moment of truth – if we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble,’ SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher told a press conference, following the union board’s unanimous vote to strike.
‘We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business.’
Writers have already spent 11 weeks protesting outside the headquarters of the likes of Disney and Netflix, after their demands for better pay and guarantees over the use artificial intelligence were not met.
At last night’s premiere of Oppenheimer at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, Sir Kenneth Branagh, who portrays Danish physicist Niels Bohr in the film, said: ‘Everybody is working very hard to make sure it doesn’t happen, if it happens I stand in solidarity with our Sag members.
‘We know it is a critical time at this point in the industry and the issues need to be addressed, difficult conversations, I know everybody is trying to get a fair deal, that is what’s required so we’ll support that.’
Main star Cillian Murphy said: ‘I stand by my colleagues, that’s all I can say to you.’
Meanwhile British actress Florence Pugh said that the cast felt lucky to have got to the Oppenheimer premiere before the strike was announced but also lucky to be standing in solidarity with their acting peers.
She said: ‘It’s been a really, really tense few days for a lot of people, not just actors but everybody in the industry who are going to be affected by this decision but affected by a decision that is necessary.
‘Equally, premieres aren’t just for us, they are to honour a movie, they are to honour a crew that made them so we feel both lucky, that we got to squeeze this in, and also lucky that we get to stand by our peers in a decision that is made.
‘We hope that something comes of it soon.’
Speaking on stage at the premiere ahead of the strike announcement, filmmaker Nolan said: ‘I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast, led by Cillian Murphy.
‘The list is enormous – Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and so many more. You’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet.
‘Unfortunately, they are off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of their union.’
The strike news comes after the US union and Hollywood studios failed to reach an agreement after more than four weeks of negotiations, with actors wanting better pay and increased safeguarding around AI rights among their demands.
Last month Sag-Aftra members voted overwhelmingly to authorise a strike if a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies could not be reached.
Nearly 98 per cent (97.91 per cent) of the 65,000 members who cast votes were in favour, Sag-Aftra said.
Announcing the strike at a press conference on Thursday, Sag-Aftra president Fran Drescher gave an impassioned speech in which she said it was a ‘very seminal hour’ for the union.
‘The gravity of this move is not lost on me … it’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people.
‘This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall now we are all going to be in trouble.
‘The jig is up AMPTP, we stand tall, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. You cannot exist without us.’
Asked how long the strike would last, Ms Drescher said: ‘That’s up to them, we are open to talking to them tonight.
‘All of this is because of their behaviour, it’s up to them if they want to talk in a normal way.’
Paul W Fleming, Equity’s general secretary, said in a statement: ‘Equity stands full square behind our sister union in their claim, and the action their Board have agreed to take.
‘Equity too is experiencing bullish engagers attempting to undermine its collectively bargained agreements. SAG-AFTRA has our total solidarity in this fight.’
He added: ‘Equity has been in constant contact with our sister union throughout the negotiations at every level – including the President and General Secretary attending in person in Los Angeles earlier this month.
‘We will continue to work closely and collaboratively on advice for artists working in the United Kingdom as the situation develops.’
A statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it was ‘deeply disappointed’ that the union had decided to ‘walk away from negotiations’.
‘This is the union’s choice, not ours.
Scores of people are seen on the set of Wicked in April. Today the set is deserted
Grande is starring in the film adaptation of the hit stage musical Wicked
The set, made to look like the magical land of Oz, is seen deserted today
Mobile cranes and metal scaffolding are seen on the deserted set of Wicked today
Wicked’s release date is set for November next year, meaning the halt to production could push that back
Not so magical: Colourful structures on the set of Wicked in Buckinghamshire are seen abandoned today
‘In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a ground-breaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more.
‘Rather than continuing to negotiate, Sag-Aftra has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.’
It is now anticipated the strike will affect upcoming award shows, premieres, events and film festivals around the world, including the Toronto and Venice film festivals, and the 75th Emmys.