Hollywood strikes: SAG-AFTRA issues warning to celebs over Halloween costumes

Halloween is historically a interval when celebrities go viral for his or her outfits, with events held by the likes of popstar Taylor Swift and supermodel Heidi Klum drawing international consideration.

Nevertheless, with the vacation quick approaching, SAG-AFTRA needs to make sure none of its high-profile members inadvertently promote sure content material by dressing up as characters Hollywood studios personal the rights to.

Members of the union are at present prohibited from selling any new films or TV exhibits, which has led to stars boycotting or walking out of premiers of their newest blockbusters.

In a ‘Halloween Guidance’ post printed by SAG-AFTRA this week, the union stated: “This Halloween, we wished to verify our members don’t inadvertently break strike guidelines, and have put collectively some fast tips about the dos and don’ts for costumes.”

Members have been inspired to “select costumes impressed by generalized characters
and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, and so forth.)”—which means that dressing up as a spider will get the inexperienced gentle, however going as Sony-owned Spiderman in all probability gained’t.

“Gown up as characters from non-struck content material, like an animated TV present,” the steerage continued.

If members actually couldn’t resist dressing up as characters from main studio-backed movies or tv sequence, SAG-AFTRA instructed them to not publish any images of their costumes to social media.

“Let’s use our collective energy to ship a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we are going to not promote their content material with no truthful contract,” the steerage stated.

Actors’ strike continues

Tensions between expertise and studios started with the Hollywood Author’s Guild of America (WGA) occurring strike in Could. Screenwriters refused to work for 5 months until they secured a three-year contract securing their pay, phrases of streaming agreements, and assurances round the usage of AI.

Throughout that point SAG-AFTRA also announced its members would be striking, with well-known faces together with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, Breaking Dangerous lead Bryan Cranston and Academy Award-winner Jessica Chastain becoming a member of the picket traces.

Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which has round 160,000 members, is putting over comparable points to its author friends: pay, working circumstances, and concerns relating to the use of AI in the film industry. Actor Aaron Paul revealed that regardless of Breaking Dangerous’s enormous success on Netflix, he doesn’t see a penny of the revenue.

Negotiations between the guild and The Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers (AMPTP) are nonetheless ongoing, with A-listers together with George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson reportedly making a $150 million provide this week to assist carry the strike to an finish.

A ‘beneficiant idea’

A spokesperson for Clooney confirmed to Reuters that the $150 million provide—to be unfold over three years—can be used to fund improved well being advantages for SAG-AFTRA members.

Nevertheless, though SAG-AFTRA labeled it a “beneficiant idea … worthy of consideration,” it instructed the plan wouldn’t tackle the basic disagreement between the events.

“It’s by no means associated to and would don’t have any bearing on this current contract and even as a topic of collective bargaining,” the group stated in a press release on Thursday. “It’s, the truth is, prohibited by Federal labor legislation.”

Contract talks between the Hollywood union and studios broke down final week.

AMPTP, which represents Netflix and Disney in addition to a number of different main studios, said in a statement on Oct. 11: “After significant conversations, it’s clear that the hole between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is simply too nice, and conversations are not shifting us in a productive path.”

Per week later, SAG-AFTRA accused AMPTP of trying to “sow division” amongst members by “misrepresenting our proposals and making an attempt to govern public sentiment.”

“Our name is straightforward. AMPTP, it’s time to barter genuinely, valuing our contributions and solidifying an trade that champions everybody inside it,” the union stated. “We backed the expansion of the streaming mannequin with lowered charges and low to non-existent residuals. It’s time to share within the success we’ve helped construct.”