SAG-AFTRA Actors Strike & Barbieheimer: International Insider. – Deadline

Good afternoon Insiders, it’s been quite the week as the ripples of the SAG strike continue to be felt around the world. Max Goldbart here with the roundup. And you can sign up here.

SAG Strike Week One

We’ve been here before: It feels just a smidgeon like we’ve been here before. As the SAG-AFTRA strike enters its second week (most likely of many), we can reflect on a seven days packed full of tributes, pickets and, internationally, plenty of confusion over projects. In the U.S., actors have been hitting the pickets in their droves, joining up with scribes who have been doing the same for coming up to three months. Where has the time gone? There are also of course question marks over promotion and upcoming festivals, in amongst Comic-Con, with TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey most recently declaring that the September fest is on. All in all, this latest dispute really has ground Hollywood to a halt. Deadline’s roving LA team has been sending daily dispatches which you can check out here, most recently covering a set of pickets that included the likes of Lupita Nyong’O, Daniel Dae Kim and Sarah Silverman. The prospects of an AMPTP/SAG deal feel a fair way away, with Sony Pictures Entertinament Chairman Tony Vinciquerra saying earlier today that the studios’ offer was “the best that has ever been made to the SAG-AFTRA group” – neatly illustrating the gulf between the two.

Complications: Internationally, things have been somewhat more complicated. We’ve spent the week delving deep by examining the shows that somewhat slip between the cracks – commissioned by U.S. networks but filming abroad with majority international casts. House of the Dragon was the first to signal it will push on but other examples have shown how much each project is being taken case by case. In the past 24 hours, we have revealed that FX’s Alien is rolling cameras in Thailand but without SAG actors, while Disney+’s UK-shot Andor is in a similar boat but will be forced to halt in the near future. Apple TV+’s Tehran, meanwhile, has become one of a number of series to land a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, according to Peter White’s piece, joining the likes of Dakota Fanning-fronted The Watchers and Sam Raimi-produced Don’t Move, along with hit faith series The Chosen. These various examples illustrate the immense difficulty in taking a one-size-fits-all approach to filming in the current charged atmosphere and there will no doubt be more like them to come.

“We will not be used as a backdoor”: It, therefore, felt timely for me to sit down with Paul Fleming, the General Secretary of UK actors union Equity, which he described as “undeniably” the second largest entertainment union in the world. While declining to comment on specific projects, Paul was unequivocal that Equity will back the U.S. strike by all means possible while working within legal frameworks – the UK’s 40-year-old anti-trade-union laws (described by Fleming as “phenomenally draconian”) dictate that British workers cannot strike in solidarity with other industries. When chatting with his SAG colleagues, Fleming has more than just solidarity on his mind. His 50,000-strong union’s contract with the UK producers body and broadcasters is up next year and Equity’s demands for a new deal are “broadly identical” to its U.S. counterparts. Fleming was speaking as the likes of Brian Cox, Imelda Staunton, and Hayley Atwell prepared to rally in support of SAG’s cause, as Equity holds its first duo of solidarity rallies in London and Manchester. We are bringing you live coverage as you digest this newsletter.

Layoffs & Closures

“Horrible but necessary”: Away from the strikes, there was more bad news as the macroeconomic slump seriously began to bite and almost 1,000 layoffs were announced across Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, Scandi outfit Viaplay and DNEG UK, while Hasbro shuttered eOne’s theatrical operation. Each has been facing tricky economic headwinds for months while using the opportunity to reshape their businesses. Around 850 will exit the German and Scandi organizations combined, while the number at DNEG UK will likely be around 70. New Viaplay CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann probably summed it up best when he described the decision during the Q2 results call as “horrible but necessary.” Consultation processes are ongoing.

eOne closure: With Mike Fleming and Nellie Andreeva bringing news that Lionsgate is in pole position to buy eOne’s global film and TV assets, the outfit’s reshaping continues with news that it will cease theatrical operations in the UK. The move, which comprises part of the 15% reduction of the company’s global workforce, is the latest bitter pill to swallow in a UK market whose distribution landscape has been hammered in recent years, writes Andreas. Less than a decade ago the company was theatrically releasing 35 films per year and scooping awards galore while last year that figure dropped to just four.

Viaplay volte-face: The story at Lindemann’s Ronja the Robber’s Daughter outfit is the story of a volte-face. Lindemann’s predecessor Anders Jensen has spent the past years being incredibly aggressive in the market, launching the streamer in ambitious markets such as the U.S. and UK and implementing a lofty originals target of one series or movie per week. But Lindemann, who replaced Jensen with immediate effect last month, isn’t having any of it, and is pushing the opposite approach. “We have too much scripted content,” he said, before announcing a drama cull that will see multiple “underperforming” shows written down while Viaplay pivots to “broadly commercial” unscripted and acquisitions. With Lindemann announcing that the outfit is potentially seeking a buyer, there is no doubt plenty more to come from this intriguing Scandi company.

Barbieheimer Goes Global

Pretty in pink (and black): In 24 hours’ time, this Insider scribe will be heading on down to the local cinema to see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, but if you’d told me a year ago I’d subsequently wait around for two hours before watching Oppenheimer I’d have sent you packing. Barbieheimer fever has not just gripped the U.S. but is going to take off around the world tomorrow and Anthony and Nancy’s weekly must-read Box Office piece had the latest. The predictions are big. At a time when Hollywood is suffering through historic dual strikes, Anthony and Nancy write that the motion picture is poised to see an enormous weekend for the pair of contrasting movies, reaping a combined $260M-plus global start. Pulling in the best ticket pre-sales since Avatar: The Way of Water, Barbie’s presales are far exceeding that of The Little Mermaid and will likely make up the brunt of the overall figure, predicted at around $165M while Oppenheimer brings in the other $100M. Anthony’s update in the early hours of this morning forecast an estimated $30M from their previews, with Barbie again making up the lion’s share. Both tentpoles have been reviewed well (Deadline’s Pete Hammond called the latter “Christopher Nolan’s most impressive achievement to date”) and the hype has been hard to ignore. Everyone needs a feel-good fix, most people love a dark movie from time to time, and somehow WBD and Mattel have managed to bring the two together. For more on Oppenheimer, check out Nancy’s Q&A with star Cillian Murphy.

Italian Gathering

Top of the Trieste: The second Audio-Visual Producers Summit was held in the beautiful Italian port city of Trieste this week, attracting the crème de la crème of Italy’s production sector and a host of Hollywood names and U.S. producers. Things kicked off on Wednesday as The Walking Dead and The Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd swapped zombies for cappuccinos. Donning her indie cap, she revealed how even someone with her pedigree and contacts had to dig deep for her latest film, doc The YouTube Effect. “Everyone turned us down,” she recalled. Hurd, who was joined on stage by members of the Motion Picture Association and the Producers Guild (which represents indie filmmakers and is not part of the AMPTP), called on U.S. and European countries to form co-production treaties to help more talent get shows and films into production. Of course, the system in the States isn’t exactly set up for something like that to happen but perhaps — in light of the labor strikes in LA — for people to start exploring new structures that can help international projects. The AVP Summit, being held for the second time, also heard from Prime Video Italy’s scripted chief, Davide Nardini, who showcased a slate of Italian originals and noted one unintended consequence of drawn-out strikes in the U.S. could be international talent stepping into the void, and his words chime with those of many international indie producers we’ve spoken to since the strikes broke out. Watch this space. Netflix, RAI, Mediaset, HBO and Sony also spoke during the summit, and you can find all of our coverage here.

Sentsov Injured

On the frontline: Every now and then the TV and film world gets a timely reminder that the war in Ukraine is still very much live. This week the reminder came via news posted on Oleg Senstsov’s Facebook page, as the Ukrainian filmmaker reported that he had sustained shrapnel injuries while fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. Sentsov joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defense forces on the day of Russia’s invasion and has not looked back. He updates regularly on Facebook and said most recently that he had sustained three injuries, while “the small things in my hand and foot [shrapnel] will stay with me forever.” Oleg’s bravery is saluted as the war rumbles on. Mel’s report is here.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: A24 added a UK production boss to its growing London office in the form of Tracey Josephs.

🌶️ Another: Anonymous Content has teamed with New Europe Film Sales on animated feature The Peasants.

🌶️ Yet Another: The BBC picked up indie drama Kindling, the first British pic to play Shanghai in six years.

🖼️ Slate: From Oscar-winning duo Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton’s Slick Films.

⛺ Festivals: Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils starring Amanda Seyfried will premiere at TIFF.

⛺ More festivals: Despite turmoil, Busan is supposedly on course for a successful 2023.

📝 Lawsuits: Noel Clarke is seeking $12M in his defamation case against The Guardian.

🧗‍♀️ New job: For former Berlinale Series boss Julia Fidel, who’s been snapped up by Frank Doelger’s Intaglio Films.

🚪 Exiting: Kitty Walshe, who has been running Banijay labels RDF and Remarkable Factual for nearly a decade.

🗣️ Moan, moan moan: The Batman and The Lady Of Heaven, a controversial film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, were the subject of the most complaints lodged in 2022.

📺 Trailer: For Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance, which launches September 15.

🔨 Breaking Baz: What do you get when you cross Barbie with Tarantino? Why this week’s Breaking Baz of course.

And finally: Thoughts to the family of Jane Birkin, whose death last weekend spawned tributes from around the world. “Our tears can’t change anything,” proclaimed Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the news of Birkin’s death at the age of 76 on Sunday. The actress was born in London in 1946 and had a decorated career and moved to Paris in the 1960s to live with Serge Gainsbourg.

Jesse Whittock contributed to this week’s Insider.