Adam Driver has called out the likes of Amazon and Netflix for not complying with the demands of the union Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
As reported by Variety, Driver offered his thoughts on the ongoing Hollywood strikes while attending a press conference to promote Michael Mann's Ferrari at the Venice Film Festival on August 31. He praised independent studios for successfully negotiating with the union but criticised larger companies for not following suit.
Speaking at the festival, Driver began: "I'm very proud to be here to be a visual representation of a movie that's not part of the AMPTP and to promote the SAG leadership directive, which is an effective tactic, which is the interim agreement.
"The other objective is obviously to say, why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon and STX International can meet the dream demands of what SAG is asking for — this is pre-negotiations — the dream version of SAG's wishlist, but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can't?" he quizzed. "Every time people from SAG go and support a movie that has met the terms of the interim agreement, it just makes it more obvious that these people are willing to support the people that they collaborate with, and the others are not."
Driver plays Enzo Ferrari in Mann's hotly anticipated biopic of the Italian sports car entrepreneur. The movie received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA to allow its stars to attend Venice to promote the picture, but only after the film's producers and distributors agreed to the terms set out by the union.
The independent productions that obtained a waiver for the event have permission to be promoted by their stars. However, Mann asserted that he and the Ferrari actors at the film festival fully support the striking SAG-AFTRA actors on the picket lines and wants them to know they stand in "solidarity" with them.
"Ferrari got made because the people who worked on Ferrari made it by forgoing large sectors of salaries, in the case of Adam and myself," Mann said, speaking out on the situation. "It was not made by a big studio — no big studio wrote us a check. And that's why we're here, standing in solidarity."
SAG-AFTRA joined striking film and TV writers on the picket line on July 14, marking the first dual strike from the two unions since 1960. Issues at play include contracts with producers and studios and working conditions, with union members demanding higher residuals and protections against Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
The strikes have effectively brought Hollywood to a standstill, with several major film and TV productions on pause until the situation is solved. Those impacted include the likes of Star Wars: Andor and Daredevil: Born Again, with filming on Deadpool 3 also coming to a halt when SAG-AFTRA opted to go on strike.
Meanwhile, Ferrari is on track to speed into U.S. theatres on December 25 via Neon just before arriving in U.K. cinemas on December 26, with its Sky Cinema debut slated for the following year.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
