39 indie movies and TV shows will be allowed to continue filming amid the ongoing SAG-AFRA actors' strike.
According to Variety, the list of approved movies and shows includes two A24 projects – Mother Mary, directed by David Lowery and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and Death of a Unicorn, which stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega. A24 is not actually part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, the body SAG-AFTRA was negotiating with that represents the movie studios.
Other projects on the list are Dust Bunny with Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver, The Rivals of Amziah King with Matthew McConaughey, Bride Hard with Rebel Wilson, The Chosen TV show, and Flight Risk with Mark Wahlberg and directed by Mel Gibson.
Variety adds that some of the 39 projects have been finished, but require a waiver from the union to allow the actors to participate in promotion. Under strike rules, actors can't be involved in promotion at all – that includes red carpets, interviews, and even social media activity.
House of the Dragon season 2 is also still continuing to film, as the cast is made up mostly of actors from the UK, whose contracts are with the union Equity. Due to UK law, Equity members cannot strike in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA.
This is the first time since 1960 that actors and writers have been on strike simultaneously; the WGA writers' strike remains ongoing with no sign of progress. It's unclear at the moment when or how the strikes will be resolved, but for now, Hollywood is pretty much at a standstill.
You can keep up to date with what's still scheduled to release this year with our guide to all of 2023's upcoming major movie release dates.
