Hollywood strike: Stars Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt walk out of UK film premiere as actors’ strike is called
STARS Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt walked out of a UK film premiere tonight as an actors’ strike was called.
Hollywood faced virtual shutdown as 160,000 actors, including Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, joined the picket line.
The industry in the US ground to a halt after a breakdown in negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild union and streaming services.
Both sides failed to agree on fairer splits of streaming profits and the potential use of artificial intelligence to replace actors.
The premiere of Christopher Nolan‘s historical epic Oppenheimer was brought forward by an hour ahead of a Sag-Aftra press conference in Los Angeles, which later declared the US union had agreed to strike.
The anticipated announcement cast a shadow over the London film premiere at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square.
The film’s major stars, including Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Rami Malek, left before the screening of the film.
The strike is likely to delay most big US films and TV series and add pressure on cinemas battered by competition from streaming services.
Gladiator 2, which is filming in Morocco, and Mortal Kombat 2 are among movies likely to halt production imminently.
The walkout would be the first by actors against the film and TV industry since 1980.
Screenwriters are already on strike over pay and conditions and if the stars join them it would be the first time both have been out since 1960.
Oscar winners Pitt, Lawrence and Streep were among more than 300 actors who last month signed an open letter to say that they would be prepared to take action if a deal could not be reached.
Barbie star Margot Robbie has also said she supports a walkout.
At the film’s London premiere on Wednesday, she said: “I’m obviously on board and part of SAG. I’m in support of all unions.”
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the streaming giants, said it was disappointed that no deal had been agreed.
It added: “This is the union’s choice, not ours.
“In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, a ground-breaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more.”