Why Anne Hathaway Is Allowed To Keep Working During Actors Strike
A24 is a studio that isn’t connected to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is why Anne Hathaway’s upcoming film Mother Mary has been given permission to continue production with an interim agreement from SAG (via ComicBook.com).
Anne Hathaway’s upcoming A24 film Mother Mary is filming during the strike because it’s not affliated with any AMPTP member studio.
The ongoing strike with the writers and actors of WGA and SAG-AFTRA means that union members (most of Hollywood) aren’t allowed to work on TV and film productions, which has stopped production on most upcoming projects. However, some waivers have been granted to some productions that are truly independent and not connected to the studios represented by AMPTP.
The A24-produced Mother Mary film will star Anne Hathaway as a fictional musician and will explore her relationship with a fashion designer, played by Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film will be directed by David Lowery, who directed the fantasy film The Green Knight for A24.
Rumors say that Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer is also set to join the production as the assistant of Coel’s character.
Lowery is also producing the film alongside Toby Halbrooks and James M. Johnston, with Jeanie Igoe of Homebird Productions and Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo, and Jonathan Saubach of Filmproduktion also on board.
With Anne Hathaway’s character being a pop star, you would expect the soundtrack to bring on some heavy hitters. You’d be right, as the music is set to be put together by super producer Jack Antonoff and pop star Charli XCX.
Anne Hathaway’s movie is one of 39 waivers that have been granted so far, including another A24 movie, Death of a Unicorn starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd.
Anne Hathaway’s film isn’t the first to be granted a waiver by SAG-AFTRA, and it surely won’t be the last, as there have been 39 waivers granted already and counting.
Projects that have been given the green light to start back up include the crowdfunded Jesus of Nazareth show The Chosen and the Rebel Wilson-starring film Bride Hard. A24 also got the go-ahead to continue production for the Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega-starring film Death of a Unicorn.
An interesting side effect of this strike might see a lot more independent productions like this Anne Hathaway film pop up in the coming months. Indie films have become more successful than ever in recent years (in a financial sense), and working outside of the studio system would undoubtedly give these films a lot more creative flexibility, though the budgets typically aren’t quite as big.
Anne Hathaway often goes from indie films to blockbuster movies, and right now, her timing couldn’t be any better.
If these indies can find success and prove the studio system isn’t necessarily needed, it could further put the squeeze on the AMPTP to come to the table with favorable terms for writers and actors.
The end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike doesn’t seem close, as recent negotiations fell through and reportedly included the AMPTP looking to use AI to take the likeness of background actors and use them in perpetuity without consent or compensation.
Needless to say, it seems like the AMPTP is pretty far off from what actors and writers want. In any case, we should see more indie productions getting production waivers soon, and we’ll keep you updated on these, the Anne Hathaway film, and anything else that goes on with the strike.
