Oscars Season Gets Back on Track With SAG-AFTRA Deal Allowing Actors to Campaign: ‘Thank F—ing God’
variety.comClayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The SAG-AFTRA strike is over, and it only took four minutes and 46 seconds after the news broke to receive an interview pitch for an actor from a publicist.
That’s because strategists and publicists for the top movies from studios and streamers have been sitting on their hands, waiting for their actors to promote their films that are in the conversation for Oscar attention.
The news of the SAG-AFTRA making a deal rippled throughout ecosystem of consultants hired to bring their clients and stars awards recognition.
Some independent productions and companies such as A24 and Neon were able to make do thanks to interim agreements for movies like Celine Song’s “Past Lives” and Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall.” However, the floodgates have now opened, and big-spending streamers like Apple and Netflix, alongside legacy studios like Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., will be trotting out their contending stars to face industry voters, walk splashy red carpets and speak to their personal and passionate projects. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories. “Thank fucking God,” one senior awards publicist shares excitedly with Variety. “We have so many ideas we want to implement, but we need our actors to execute them.
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