It’s been exactly one week since the actors’ unions joined the strike in Hollywood, creating a virtually unprecedented situation that has only been roughly paralleled in 1960. Work has stopped on most projects that require writers or actors, and it’s likely that many of them will be shelved. And it also applies to films or series that have already been filmed. According to new information, for example, studio Warner Bros. is considering postponing the highly-anticipated premiere of the second sci-fi Dune installment from November until next year.
With the news exclusively he came server Variety, which refers to three anonymous sources familiar with the situation at the studio. In Warner Bros. there are currently discussions about the possible postponement of Duna, but nothing is clear yet. Legendary Entertainment, which is working with Warners on the film, would probably also have to agree with a possible decision and a new premiere date.
At the moment, it is said that Dune: Part Two, which will follow Paul (Timothée Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya) and many others in the fight for the inhabitants of the planet Arrakis, should be released on the original date of November 2, 2022. Certainties, however, are practically non-existent now, as it is difficult to estimate how long the strikes could last.
Until it’s over, the film’s star-studded cast of Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Austin Butler, Josh Brolin, etc. will not be able to participate in any way in its promotion. This could hurt revenue significantly. For similar reasons, the postponement of The Color Purple, with a current release date of January 18, 2024, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is scheduled for release on December 21, are also being considered. His acting ensemble includes big names such as Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman or Ben Affleck.
The postponement would mean, on the one hand, the necessity to find new premiere dates so that they do not conflict with other titles with a similar audience. The costs of the marketing campaign would also increase for the production and distribution companies, which, at least for Duna at the current stage, is probably already carefully planned and tied to fulfillment. Media firms lose large sums of money due to strikes in this and many other ways, which is at the heart of the union’s strategy for enforcing its demands.
The strikes were triggered by the constantly worsening financial situation of artists, mainly associated with the advent of streaming services. Most WGA (writers) and SAG-AFTRA (actors) union members don’t even make minimum wage in the places they work, and the standard is to make extra money elsewhere while working in Hollywood. That was before their incomes were further reduced by Netflix and other platforms.
Previously, for example, it was a common practice won by past strikes that the re-broadcasting of a film or series on television for their creators meant a bonus paid out of the studio’s additional profit (the so-called residual). There is practically no such thing at Netflix. For example, when The Squid Game unexpectedly became a massive global hit – the biggest in the company’s history to date – its creator received no bonus at all beyond his original salary. All the profit from his series only went to the streaming service. The actors and screenwriters are trying to change that, but the studios don’t want to agree to their terms.
In other words, since streaming services work differently than television, and older union-studio contracts don’t reflect that, the companies keep a much larger portion of the profits. At the same time, the majority of it was directly generated by artists who demand its fair redistribution. The studios, meanwhile, refer to their own poor financial situation, often demonstrated by a numbers game known as “Hollywood accounting”.
Oppenheimer“>
Christopher Nolan on the set of Oppenheimer
Many well-known artists, from the cast of Oppenheimer who walked out of the film’s London premiere to studio executives, have weighed in on the situation. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said his company tried to avoid the strike, and because his father was a union electrician, he said he understood the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations. “We are very keen to reach an agreement as soon as possible that is fair and allows the industry and all its members to continue into the future,” he added.
Christopher Nolan, who as a screenwriter himself is a member of the WGA, expressed his full support for the strikes and noted that he will not work on the next film until the union signs a new contract with the studio. “It’s very important that everyone realizes that this is a pivotal moment in the relationship between working people and Hollywood,” he mentioned in an interview with BBC News.
Sean Gunn, known for example as Kraglin from Guardians of the Galaxy, but also from Gilmore Girls, also joined the discussion. “When a show is a huge success and makes Netflix millions in profit, we don’t get any of it — in large part because they’re not transparent with their numbers.” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter taken outside the Netflix studios, where he protested with many others. “We just want to make sure we get a fair deal. If the series is successful, we should also benefit from it. That sounds perfectly reasonable,” he added.
2023-07-21 13:03:34
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