With Hollywood’s writers and actors on strike, work at the center of cultural production and entertainment has shut down — but not completely.
Since July 14’s strike notice, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has entered into interim agreements with a select few independent film and TV productions that are willing to meet the union’s terms.
Here are the projects still rolling during the strike, and why.
Which TV and Film Projects Have Been Greenlit by SAG-AFTRA?
As of July 24, SAG-AFTRA has reached interim agreements with 79 independent productions.
The list includes several movie productions from A24 — like Death of a Unicorne, which stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, and Mother Mary, featuring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. It also features Dust Bunny, set to star Mads Mikkelsen and queer icon Sigourney Weaver, as well as Bride Hard, starring Rebel Wilson. The Chosen, a crowdfunded TV series about the life of Jesus, also entered into an agreement with the SAG-AFTRA to finish its fourth season.
Here are all 79 projects greenlit by SAG-AFTRA.
- Adult Best Friends
- Aguadilla
- American Deadbolt
- American Nightmare
- Anniversary
- The Ar Racist
- Armadilla
- Beneath the Grass
- Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
- Beyond the Walls
- Bob Trevino Likes It
- Bootyology
- Bride Hard
- Buffalo Daze
- The Cafone
- The Chosen
- Conduit
- Cuando Volvimos A La Tierra
- Death of a Unicorne
- A Desert
- Didi
- Don’t Move
- Dos Lados
- Dream Devil
- Dust Bunny
- Exhibiting Forgiveness
- F-PLUS
- Flight Risk
- Fluxx
- Friends and Foes
- From Ashes
- Ganymede
- Gray House
- The Greatest Ever
- Hal & Harper
- Ick
- Isaac
- Just Breathe
- King Ivory
- Leaves of Grass
- Legend of the White Dragon
- Mother Mary
- Mother, May I?
- Mourning Rock
- My Valentine Wedding
- Osiris
- The Other You
- Paradise and Lunch
- Queen of the Ring
- Return to Wickensburg
- The Ritual
- Rivals of Azmiah King
- Roses on the Vine
- Sell Out
- The Short Game
- Sight Unseen
- Sod and Stubble
- The Sound
- The Summer Book
- Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
- Superthief
- Tehran
- The Killer’s Game
- Til Death … Do You
- The Tower
- Transamazonia
- Underdeveloped
- The Unknown Country
- Until He’s Destroyed
- Untitled Jazzy Project
- Untitled Rebuilding Project
- The Watchers
- Week End Escape Project
- What She Doesn’t Know
- When Calls the Heart
- Wildcat
- The Wilderness
- The Yellow Tie
- Young Claude
Some of the projects above have already finished shooting, but obtained waivers from the SAG-AFTRA so that the actors involved could do promotions for their films.
Why the Interim Agreements?
The SAG-AFTRA strike notice earlier this month meant that the union’s 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, disc jockeys, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, and other media professionals are stepping away from all film and television projects.
They’ve joined members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) at picket lines outside major production studios and have stopped doing any press work for completed projects. In fact, the cast of Oppenheimer walked away from their own premiere the minute the strike was called.
It’s the first time in 63 years that both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, and there’s a lot at stake. The interim agreements for the productions listed above don’t mean that the fight for fair pay and protections from AI is any less urgent.
If anything, it’s proof that the union’s very reasonable demands, raised during the failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), are possible.
The production companies working on the greenlit projects above have agreed to abide by the terms outlined in the latest offer submitted by the SAG-AFTRA. If and when a final deal is successfully negotiated with the AMPTP, they will follow the terms set by those, too.
But it’s worth noting that many of the productions above are from smaller organizations like A24, an independent entertainment company that’s given us masterpieces like Everything Everywhere All At Once and exciting TV shows like Beef.
And if small companies can afford to give actors things like wage increases to match inflation, provision for informed consent before using actors’ digital replicas, and success-based compensation for streaming, why can’t AMPTP giants like Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Apple, and Warner Bros?
SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has said that SAG-AFTRA members are encouraged to participate in the greenlit projects above.
Members of both SAG-AFTRA and WGA have expressed that they are ready to strike for as long as it takes to achieve a fair contract with the AMPTP, and have the support of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It’s not hard, then, to imagine a near future where the only movies able to cross the finish line of production and into theaters are non-AMPTP projects.
What Can the Rest of Us Do?
The faces and voices that entertain the world are on strike, and those of us who enjoy movies, TV shows, and media in general can help in several ways.
But first, something we shouldn’t do: Boycotting movies and TV shows.
A common question that’s come up in recent weeks is whether doing so would be good for solidarity, but neither the WGA nor SAG-AFTRA has called for a consumer boycott — at least, not yet. In fact, Neil Gaiman, who is a member of both unions, has expressed on Tumblr that we shouldn’t boycott.
“It’s not ‘crossing the picket line’ to watch something on a network that we are striking against. (‘Crossing a picket line’ is a very real, specific thing with a real meaning.) I’ve seen it being discussed, but until the WGA calls for it, I don’t suggest doing it,” Gaiman wrote.
Ben Paddon, a writer and actor, added that a boycott may actually hurt striking workers. “Studios can say, ‘Well, actually, Barbie only made $X dollars, Oppenheimer only made $Y dollars, only so-many thousands of people watched Good Omens 2, obviously there isn’t enough money to go around. Sadface emoji.’”
What’s on theaters and TV screens right now is content already made, and if it makes money, we’re showing studios exactly the value created by striking workers.
So what can we do?
For starters, it’s a good idea to boost the unions’ message on social media, which is part of solidarity 101. The WGA and the SAG-AFTRA have uploaded social media toolkits with graphics and sample posts you can use.
Those with resources to spare are also invited to donate to the Entertainment Community Fund, a non-profit that supports actors, writers, and entertainment workers like crew members and assistants who may need help paying rent or medical bills during the strike. Donations are tax-deductible, and helps Hollywood’s workers to stay on the picket lines longer.
For updates, follow the SAG-AFTRA on Twitter.