Oppenheimer Star Matt Damon Says Actors Must "Hold Strong" for a Fair Deal Amid Strike
The entertainment industry appears to be approaching an indefinite pause. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2nd, as they are holding out for a better deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Productions. In the time that the WGA has been on strike, actors and directors have shown their support, with some even holding signs alongside them at outside demonstrations. As that was going on, time was ticking on the Screen Actors Guild to reach a new deal with the studios, but negotiations ultimately fell through. As of midnight, SAG-AFTRA's contract with AMPTP has expired, and the union has voted unanimously in favor of a strike.
That said, an actors' strike has not gone into effect yet, but could begin at any point. The timing is especially curious for the cast of Oppenheimer, who are currently holding their film's world premiere in London. The cast has agreed to walk out if a strike goes into effect while the premiere is happening.
Update: Director Christopher Nolan has confirmed that the Oppenheimer cast has left the premiere in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Speaking during the red carpet, Oppenheimer star Matt Damon noted that he and his fellow actors will have to "hold strong" if a strike does go into effect.
"It's brutal for our sister unions. It's brutal for IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees). It's going to be tough for 160,000 actors. Nobody wants a work stoppage, but if our leadership is saying that the deal isn't fair, then we got to hold strong until we get a deal that's fair for working actors," Damon told Deadline. "It's the difference between having health care and not for a lot of actors. We got to do what's right by them."
The Hollywood strikes have already impacted one of Damon's productions. Damon and longtime friend Ben Affleck launched their own production company, Artists Equity, last fall, already completing three films, and their latest project shut down production due to the WGA strike.
"Ben and I just started this little independent studio. We're three and a half movies in," Damon continued. "We're shut down on one of them right now. We're just waiting for everything to resolve."
Both the writers' and actors' guilds are seeking stronger base pay with compensation that accounts for streaming projects' success based on currently-undisclosed viewership numbers. Beyond that, both guilds want regulations in place regarding the growing use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood projects.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on the reportedly imminent SAG-AFTRA strike.
Damon stars in Oppenheimer, which hits theaters on July 21st.