In the midst of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Universal Pictures offered its support and cancelled the forthcoming red carpet at the Oppenheimer US premiere. According to reports, the Christopher Nolan movie will, however, be screened.
The first day of picketing began on July 14 after SAG-AFTRA announced a strike on July 13. After failing to come to an agreement on a new contract with the studios and streaming services, who are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted on Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike.
According to Variety, Universal Pictures in a statement said, “In support of the ongoing SAG strike, the filmmakers of Oppenheimer will not be proceeding with the NY premiere as originally planned, and will instead screen the movie to celebrate the crew and craftspeople who contributed to making this landmark film.” Oppenheimer will have its premiere in New York City on Monday at 7 p.m. ET (4.30 a.m. IST).
The decision comes after the exit of the Oppenheimer cast from the film’s UK premiere in favour of the strike. The premiere in the United Kingdom took place on July 13, only hours before SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher officially called for a strike. Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt walked the UK red carpet but did not attend the film’s premiere. The actors then left the premiere, according to Christopher, to begin making picket signs for the strike.