Hollywood stars 'walk out' of London Oppenheimer premiere as strike action called
dailyrecord.co.ukHollywood stars will walk off sets after US actors union Sag-Aftra announced its first major members strike in over 40 years.
The decision came after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to produce new contracts for members on Thursday.It comes after more than four weeks of bargaining with the AMPTP, which represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, and Warner Bros Discovery.
The strike was announced by union president Fran Drescher and will start at midnight Pacific Time in the US – 8am BST.Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon were among the stars who staged a walkout from the London premiere of Oppenheimer to “write their picket signs” ahead of the Sag-Aftra strike announcement on Thursday evening.
The premiere of Christopher Nolan’s historical epic was brought forward by an hour ahead of a Sag-Aftra press conference in Los Angeles, which later declared the US union had agreed to strike.The anticipated announcement cast a shadow over the London film premiere at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, with the film’s major stars including Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Rami Malek leaving before the screening of the film.Speaking on stage at the premiere ahead of the strike announcement, filmmaker Nolan said: “I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast, led by Cillian Murphy.“The list is enormous — Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and so many more.
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