Viola Davis received a SAG-AFTRA waiver to continue filming her upcoming movie but has stepped back amid the ongoing actors’ strike.
Davis’ “G20” has been put on pause after the EGOT actress decided to stand in solidarity with her fellow thespians despite the greenlight the film has to continue production amid the massive strike.
“I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” Davis told Deadline.
“I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG/AFTRA and the WGA.”
Davis is set to star and produce “G20,” an action film that follows a terrorist attack at the G20 Summit. American President Taylor Sutton (Davis) combines her statecraft and military experience to defend her family, her fellow leaders and the world.
The decorated award winner secured approval from the actors guild despite the film’s ties to Amazon Studios. Since the project is within the non-AMPTP-affiliated MRC and will only be distributed by Amazon, it was deemed acceptable to film despite the current strike against major streaming platforms.
“The Woman King” star follows Brad Pitt and Tobias Menzies who stepped back from the Formula One film “Apex” for Apple TV amid the strike.
“They’re not shooting with any SAG actors, so I’m stood down,” Menzies said.
The moves highlight the awkward situations many A-list actors are being met with as their projects receive greenlights to continue production amid the strike. While continuing to film could produce jobs for many of the actors and writers on strike, working during a strike could be seen as “scabbing” their fight with major streaming providers.
The actors guild has given out over 100 interim waivers for films to continue production amid the actors’ and writers’ strike. Many actors have been speaking out and revealing the low residual checks they receive for work that’s still available to stream on many platforms.
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