Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer comes out later this week. His cast only had a few days to promote the film in Europe before SAG-AFTRA called the strike, a strike which shut down all film promotions. Granted, Nolan could single-handedly promote the film for the rest of the promotional tour, but I don’t think he will. Nolan is a member of the Directors Guild, obviously, but I would imagine that he’s also a member of the PGA (Producers Guild) and WGA (Writers Guild). The DGA already struck a deal with the AMPTP and they reportedly capitulated to studios and got a dogsh-t deal, leaving it up to the actors and writers’ unions to demand fair pay. Now Nolan says that he’s standing with the striking actors and writers:

Christopher Nolan is joining his “Oppenheimer” cast in stepping out from Hollywood as the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes ensue. A day after the ensemble of his upcoming J. Robert Oppenheimer epic — including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh — walked out of the film’s London premiere as the SAG-AFTRA strike began simultaneously, Nolan told BBC News that he will not attempt another film project until the work stoppages are resolved.

“No, absolutely. It’s very important that everybody understands it is a very key moment in the relationship between working people and Hollywood,” Nolan told the outlet amid SAG-AFTRA protesting the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ (AMPTP) refusal to offer a more solid residuals structure for streaming content and to protect actors and other talent against the threat of artificial intelligence.

“This is not about me, this is not about the stars of my film,” Nolan said. “This is about jobbing actors, this is about staff writers on television programs trying to raise a family, trying to keep food on the table.”

SAG-AFTRA has claimed that its now-expired contract with the AMPTP ignores how studios compensate talent for content that streams well beyond its initial release date. Nolan said that studios associated with the AMPTP have not taken account of “this new world of streaming, and a world where they’re not licensing their products out to other broadcasters — they’re keeping them for themselves.”

The five-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker added, “They have not yet offered to pay appropriately to the unions’ working members, and it’s very important that they do so. I think you’d never want a strike, you never want industrial action. But there are times where it’s necessary. This is one of those times.”

[From IndieWire]

I find it interesting that Nolan is effectively going on strike as well – the DGA already got their deal and DGA has made a point of not striking in solidarity with their sister unions. Granted, it will be hard for any director to get anything done without actors or writers, so Nolan’s commitment to “not working through the strike” isn’t so much an act of solidarity as much as a logistical reality. Now I wonder how many big-name directors actually think the strike is a good thing, and how many directors feel like their union got hosed.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan at the Oppenheimer UK Premiere at Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom on 13 July 2023.,Image: 788957349, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Cat Morley / Avalon

Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan at the Oppenheimer film premiere at The Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square in London, UK, on 13th July 2023,Image: 788962936, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon

Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy at the Oppenheimer movie photocall, Trafalgar Square, London, UK in London, UK, on 12th July 2023,Image: 789053822, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon

Oppenheimer Premiere held at Grand Rex in Paris, France. Featuring: Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Christopher Nolan When: 11 Jul 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

Oppenheimer Premiere held at Grand Rex in Paris, France. Featuring: Christopher Nolan When: 11 Jul 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**