Which Productions Are Continuing During the SAG-AFTRA Strike? ‘Death of a Unicorn,’ ‘Beneath the Grass,’ and More
As anyone who pays attention to the movie industry knows, SAG-AFTRA is on indefinite strike. And that, combined with the now months-long WGA strike, means that all film and TV productions involving SAG actors, from Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel to the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” film, have halted until the labor dispute concludes.
Well, almost all productions. Unlike the WGA strike, which has been fairly hard-line, some SAG actors are still allowed to work — provided their productions receive permission from the union. Since July 18, SAG-AFTRA has been providing select independent films with “interim agreements,” which allow them and the SAG-represented actors in them to continue production during the work stoppage. The main requirement for an agreement is that the film must be truly independent — with no ties to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents over 350 American and film production companies in their collective bargaining agreements with SAG.
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Hundreds have applied for interim agreements, but when they were first granted, only 39 movies were given the go-ahead to continue work. Among them were two A24 films (the studio isn’t an AMPTP member). These included “Mother Mary,” David Lowrey’s pop star epic starring Anne Hathaway; and “Death of a Unicorn,” a dark comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd. Other projects allowed to film include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” led by Matthew McConaughey; Simon West’s “Bride Hard” with Rebel Wilson; and more.
The guild explains on its website that the strike order applies to productions made under the Codified Basic and Television Agreements (a contract AMPTP holds with the guild), as well as other agreements the two organizations make for lower-budget projects. Producers outside AMPTP can apply for an interim agreement and once they are vetted, receive the go-ahead. Once an agreement is reached, performers are free to act in the production without violating the strike order — aka “scabbing.” Choosing to continue working on a production without an interim agreement could result in getting fined by the guild.
When the interim agreements were first announced, they caused some controversy, with critics like Sarah Silverman calling the practice antithetical to the strike. SAG has since modified the terms of their interim agreements to exclude WGA-covered projects produced in the U.S. Films that have already signed interim agreements will not have their applications rescinded, but it will heavily impact the number of films that receive permission to film: about one out of five films with agreements wouldn’t get one now.
Here’s a list of every film that has been granted permission from SAG-AFTRA to continue production during the current strike (so far). SAG-AFTRA regularly adds to its list of films granted interim agreements; see here for updates. This list does not include productions that have received permission to cast but have not received permission to film. It does include productions that have wrapped filming but have received interim agreements for talent to promote films.
[Editor’s note: This list was published on July 26, 2023. It was last updated on September 1, 2023.]
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