Hollywood strikes affecting Winnipeg productions

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This article was published 13/07/2023 (871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With a writers strike ongoing and an actors strike looming south of the border, some local film and television projects associated with American labour have been forced to hit the pause button.

“We’ve seen a couple of American-based productions that had been greenlit… that have since suspended production and have essentially shut down,” says Nicolas Phillips, president of the local branch of IATSE, the union representing approximately 700 motion picture specialty artists, craftspeople and technicians in Manitoba.

An actors strike might go into effect at midnight Pacific time Wednesday should the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) not reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Since early May, the Writers Guild of America has been on the picket lines, angling with the AMPTP for better compensation suited to the streaming era. For the actors, residual payments and enhanced regulations around the use of artificial intelligence are central to the potential dispute.

On Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA agreed to a request to meet with U.S. federal mediators, but a strike is still on the table, the union said.

“We will not be distracted from negotiating in good faith to secure a fair and just deal by the expiration of our agreement,” read a statement released by the union. “We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every opportunity to make a deal; however, we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement.”

In the event of an actors strike, any local production relying on labour by members of either of those unions would be impacted, slowed or possibly delayed until the dispute is resolved and an agreement reached.

Louise O’Brien-Moran, Manitoba Film and Music’s manager of film programs and film commission services, says an actors strike would create some gridlock.

About 55 per cent of the province’s production volume is service production — in which local producers assist in the development of film and television work from elsewhere — with 30 per cent in the form of co-productions; the bulk of both forms of production involve American partners.

About 15 per cent of local productions are strictly Manitoban, which highlights the importance of a strong local industry and of independent productions, she says.

Producer Kim Todd of Winnipeg’s Original Productions, who has worked on high-profile projects such as The Handmaid’s Tale for Hulu/MGM and the FX series Fargo, currently has a medium-budget film that could be left hanging in the balance depending on the negotiation outcome. That film would bring in approximately $15 million to Manitoba over a 20-week production schedule.

The film could go forward eventually, but a strike could ice the project and its associated economic impact.

Many Canadian actors are members of both SAG-AFTRA and its Canadian equivalent, ACTRA.

August tends to be one of the more jam-packed months for the local film industry. This year, while still busy, figures to be slower than normal due in large part to the union activity in the U.S., says Phillips.

Regardless, Phillips says his union wholeheartedly supports their industry counterparts’ fights for a fair contract.

“It might mean short-term pain for long-term gain. These are important issues that affect us all,” he says.

Todd says that while many local productions are Canadian, over the past few years, there has been an influx of service production.

“The healthiest production communities in Canada are a mix of Canadian work and service production, and that’s true of Toronto and Vancouver as well, so an American strike like this — or two strikes, rather — would have a very big effect on the people who make their living in the production industry,” she says.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com