SAG-AFTRA warns actor members to steer clear of Halloween costumes from struck films and shows – including Barbie and Wednesday
The union representing notable actors is urging its members to hold a strike-friendly Halloween party this year.
SAG-AFTRA told its members on Wednesday not to dress up as characters from popular movies or shows, via a digital flyer posted on its website. strike website.
In addition to avoiding characters from currently affected films or television shows, guild members should also avoid wearing costumes of characters owned by affected companies, such as characters from Marvel films, which are primarily owned by Disney.
The new guidance — which comes shortly after Jessica Chastain and Ariana Grande’s new boyfriend were spotted on the picket line — means that actors who want to remain members in the union’s good graces will have to avoid popular costumes inspired by the Barbie film and Netflix’s Addams Family. spinoff series Wednesday — otherwise they should at least keep them secret.
Instead, SAG-AFTRA encourages its members to opt for more generic costumes that cannot be seen as promotions for successful projects.
Stay out! SAG-AFTRA is urging its acting members not to wear Halloween costumes inspired by popular movies and shows, the union announced on its website Wednesday; Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in a publicity photo for Barbie
Scary: High-profile members will also have to avoid the hugely popular Wednesday Addams costumes as they could be seen as promotion for the Netflix show. The streamer is represented by the AMPTP
To be clear, SAG-AFTRA noted that characters from most animated TV shows are safe, as the vast majority of animated shows are represented by a different union
The flyer instructs members to “choose costumes inspired by common characters and figures,” and lists ghosts, zombies and spiders as safe and acceptable costume ideas.
Even though these creepy figures have been used in minted work, they have become so widely generalized that notable actors should be able to avoid the appearance of promoting a well-known film or series.
To make things easier for members, the flyer notes that any character from an unaffected property is a fair shot for a Halloween costume.
The guild emphasized characters from animated TV shows, as the vast majority of them fall under another union, the Animation Guild, which is not currently on strike.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for about 100 days against the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group that represents major Hollywood studios and streams (including Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon).
One of the most successful films that will likely inspire many costumes this spooky season is the blockbuster Barbie.
Fans are sure to dress up as Margot Robbie’s title character and Ryan Gosling’s scene-stealing Ken, along with some of the secondary characters, but SAG-AFTRA members won’t be able to don the pink-themed Barbie get-up for fear they’ll damage the affected film possible promotion. .
Fans of Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer may also want to replicate Cillian Murphy’s signature fedora-pork pie hat hybrid and his voluminous suits to transform into J. Robert Oppenheimer, but that film – which is distributed by Universal – would also be off-limits.
Other costumes that fall outside the boundaries could include anything inspired by the hit series The Bear or a character from the hit Marvel/Disney+ series Loki.
However, there are still some high-profile movie properties that could escape SAG-AFTRA’s ban.
There have been several films made by independent studios that have been granted waivers by the union for agreeing to abide by the union’s terms when it came to minimum wage increases and restrictions on the use of AI, as well as new revenue sharing requirements.
So fans of the highly anticipated Ferrari – directed by Michael Mann – can dress up as Adam Driver’s title character, as the film’s distributor has been granted a union exemption.
If Variety notes that even some real-life popular figures like Elvis can be a costume inspiration, as long as it’s the right Elvis.
Out of Reach: Fans of the Barbenheimer double bill also can’t dress up as Cillian Murphy’s version of Oppenheimer, as that film was distributed by Universal
No, chef! Nor can standout actors copy Jeremy Allen White’s tattooed chef costume from The Bear
Off-Limits: Loki characters are off-limits, as are all other Marvel characters owned by Disney
Going into overdrive: But fans of Adam Driver and Michael Mann can adopt Driver’s Ferrari costume, as that film got an exemption from SAG-AFTRA
Technical details: Members cannot dress as Austin Butler from Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (which is distributed by Warner Bros.), but they can dress as Jacob Elordi’s more reserved Elvis from Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. The A24 film also received an exemption
The version of the legendary rock ‘n’ roller played by Austin Butler in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis would be off-limits as the film was distributed by stricken Warner Bros. company.
However, fans of the king could get away with dressing up as the more muted version of the singer, played by Jacob Elordi in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, as that critically acclaimed film was distributed by independent studio A24, which faced a hesitation.
While SAG-AFTRA doesn’t want its members to dress up as characters from affected properties, it seems most concerned about its members not doing so publicly.
The information flyer urges actors not to “post photos of costumes inspired by affected content to social media,” although it’s not entirely clear whether a Barbie costume worn only to a private party would be acceptable.