17 Jul - It looks like fans of various franchises will have to wait longer for their movies to come out, as Hollywood actors are now joining the writers' in their strike. It was reported that members of performers union SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists - the union that represents all performers on film and television) have now joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in their strike that started two months ago, after contract talks with studios and streamers broke down on 12 July.
With that, it meant that movies that are now in production are now halted. This include "Deadpool 3", "Wicked", "Gladiator 2", and the second part of the upcoming "Mission: Impossible" movie.
Earlier, stars of "Oppenheimer" left the screening in London in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA strike, with Emily Blunt saying, "Obviously we stand with all of the actors and at whatever point it's called, we're going to be going home and standing together through it because I want everyone to get a fair deal." The SAG-AFTRA strike marks the first time actors initiated labour dispute since the 1980 actors strike, and the first time that actors and writers walked out simultaneously since 1960. Writers and actors, it was revealed, have been expressing frustrations over the several issues for the past few years, from streamers making up bigger share of the industry affecting their livelihoods, as well as the advent of AI.