How Series And Movies Are Still Filming During Strike
Those who have been paying attention to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike may be aware that writers and actors can’t work on studio productions during this time as part of their union rules. This means that most of Hollywood has halted filming TV shows and movies, but productions that meet specific stipulations can apply for a waiver to continue work. According to Deadline, the first series to get their SAG-AFTRA waiver is the Jesus of Nazareth series, The Chosen, which has started filming again as of Monday.
The Chosen has been granted a SAG-AFTRA waiver to continue production in spite of strike after proving, to the union’s satisfaction, that it’s a completely independent production unaffiliated with the struck studios.
The Chosen also reportedly has its full cast back and filming and is set to wrap in two weeks, and only missed a couple of days of filming despite the SAG-AFTRA strike and many of the cast members being SAG actors (including Jesus actor Jonathan Roumie).
While it’s notable that this series got a waiver, don’t expect it to be a common occurrence. Shows and films have to meet very specific requirements if they want to get a waiver.
Until the SAG-AFTRA strike is over, productions with SAG actors wanting a waiver will have to prove that the production is truly independent and not affiliated with any of the studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. While The Chosen was a crowdfunded TV series that gleaned over $40 million from contributions and is produced by the Texas-based indie Out Of Order Studios, there was still some scrutiny over the waiver application.
Mostly because the series recently announced a distribution deal with major studio Lionsgate and had previously sold seasons one through three to CW, Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock.
However, Deadline reported that the Lionsgate deal shouldn’t be an impediment, and the streaming platform deals applied to previous seasons, meaning the latest season of The Chosen wouldn’t be affected. The show also releases new episodes for free on the show’s website and app, so it seems like the release date of the new season won’t really be affected by the strike either.
To get the waiver, the production also needed to agree to be bound retroactively to whatever contract terms eventually are achieved with the AMPTP when the strike is settled.
Of course, the tricky part of getting a waiver doesn’t end with simply getting the waiver.
It’s expected that SAG-AFTRA will issue more production waivers during the upcoming weeks, but the process has been a bit thrown together. SAG-AFTRA hasn’t gone on strike since the 1980s, so there wasn’t really a process in place. Indie productions are more common than ever, so it stands to reason that there would be at least a few films and shows that would meet the stipulations to continue working.
Amongst these is the indie film Bride Hard, starring Rebel Wilson, which was also granted a waiver due to being independently financed and produced without connection to the AMPTP. Of course, the tricky part of getting a waiver doesn’t end with simply getting the waiver.
Indie productions are more common than ever, so it stands to reason that there would be at least a few films and shows that would meet the stipulations to continue working.
There’s also the consideration that some SAG actors will refuse to work on productions out of solidarity with the striking writers and actors, along with the fact that US productions have Teamsters on strike who will refuse to cross the picket line.
