Actors expected to attend awards shows as SAG-AFTRA and studios reach tentative deal to end strike

Now that SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the start of the Oscar campaign appears to have stalled for the season for the many actors who are not allowed to participate in any form of film advertising and are distributed by affected studios made and streamers can finally join. To date, FYC campaigns have largely been led by directors, tradesmen and, more recently since the end of the WGA strike, writers. For many voters, though, it’s star attraction that fills seats at FYC screenings and tunes into the late-night talk shows and other promotional channels so often used during the season to draw attention to a candidate.

Since the strike began in July, stars from supposed top contenders, from Bradley Cooper to Cillian Murphy to Annette Bening to Margot Robbie to Leonardo DiCaprio, have been absent from the circuit, away from major fall festivals and unable to get a promotion anywhere. also for movie screenings, right down to the ridiculous SAG Halloween costume ban. Now you can count on stars all over the place looking for the shiny golden statue known as Oscar, everywhere, until the Oscars finally take place on Sunday, March 10.

You’ll probably notice a difference on the track right away. Warner Bros. For example.’ big christmas release, The color purple, will have its grand premiere on November 16 at the Motion Picture Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre. The invitations only mention director Blitz Bazawule as attending the question-and-answer session after the screening, but hint that there may be others as well. I think you can probably assume that the cast, including Fantasia, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson, as well as producer Oprah Winfrey, will be in attendance, just as they all were at CinemaCon in April before the strike. Actors are expected to join various FYC events in the city.

Deadline’s The Contenders event on Nov. 18 at the DGA already has a strong lineup, but more actors are now expected to be free to promote. With the holidays fast approaching, critics’ groups voting and nominations for the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards just weeks away, January is packed with several awards shows, including the Globes (they may still be waiting for one TV contract to be announced ). Once the strike ends), Critics Choice and the Palm Springs Film Festival gala, not to mention the strike-postponed Emmys and Governors Awards (where nominees also freely shake hands with Oscar voters), you can with this Thespeln ‘ a chance to expect glory to be clearly visible from now on. Winner announcements at major awards shows such as the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara Film Festivals are expected to follow shortly. A top strategist told me on Monday that their (very high profile) competitors are telling them their bags are packed and they’re ready to hit the road once SAG gives the green light.

The focus is on the SAG Awards, a major precursor to the Oscars that has had a nearly 100 percent record of predicting where the Oscars will go in the past year (last year, SAG correctly predicted the final Oscars for Michelle Yeoh) . , Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan and All everywhere at the same time). Each spring, the Screen Actors Guild randomly selects two groups of 2,500 members each to serve on its motion picture and television selection committees. Although we are told that these committees exist, they are largely stuck in time. A veteran activist told us that the members are known and once the strike is over the submit button will be activated and the SAG Nom Comm members will be flooded with invitations, shows and all the perks.

Voting for nominations closes on January 7 and nominations will be announced on January 10. The 30th annual SAG Awards will be broadcast on Saturday, February 24. Ironically, this will be the first year of a new broadcasting agreement under which the awards will be presented. Streamed live on Netflix, one of the hardest-hit companies to face brutal protests over the past four months. In fact, it wasn’t until early October that the guild managed to issue guidelines for this year’s SAG Awards for the registration process to even take place. It began Oct. 4 with a deadline that ended Monday at 5 p.m. PT, about two weeks later than originally planned before the strike.

The SAG was of the opinion that the registrations themselves did not count as “promotional measures” in terms of the strike order and that the participation fees would be deferred until the end of the strike. However, FYC events, e-blasts and screeners for consideration of the SAG awards have been suspended. SAG stressed that productions covered by its interim agreements are not affected and therefore will not be affected in any way, with actors free to undertake promotional duties, including FYC events.

Among these actors was Helen Mirren (Gouda cheese), who appeared at a question-and-answer session at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater on Tuesday night and was the guest of honor at a luncheon hosted by Bleecker Street for the film on Wednesday. Others include Sandra Huller (The area of ​​interest, anatomy of a fall), Venice Best Actor winners Peter Sarsgaard and Jessica Chastain (Memory), Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz (Ferrari) Greta Lee (past lives), Glenn Howerton (blackberry) Juliette Binoche (the taste of things) and Best Actress in Venice winners Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi (Priscilla), amongst other things. Whether the lead will give them an unusual advantage this season remains to be seen. Bookings for various podcasts and my Deadline video series The actor’s side And Behind the lens They remained resilient despite the strike, but now the floodgates are opening.

The normal course of awards season has already undergone significant changes, most recently with the announcement last week that the WGA Awards will be held on April 14, a month after the Oscars, due to what the guild said were logistical issues surrounding the five was Oscars. … .monthly strike. It also remains to be seen whether SAG will stick to its announced schedule and air date on Netflix, but the fact that it maintained the registration process even during the protest suggests that the union hoped to maintain the schedule.

When it comes to television and awards shows that also honor actors in that medium, there have been internal discussions between groups like Critics Choice about eligibility, as there are many shows that could be contenders, such as: Abbott Elementary School Due to the widespread network slowdown during the fall TV season, we have yet to start the new season. Because of pending spring episodes, such shows would still be eligible for the Globes, Critics Choice and SAG, all of which are presented in a traditional calendar year, rather than the Emmys, whose eligibility runs from June to May and which – even though the ceremony has been postponed until early 2024 – Was the August vote completed as scheduled, unaffected by the strikes? Ultimately, it’s probably best to stick with the status quo and hope for the best.

Sure, the late-night talk shows are back in force, but few actors have made major studio films available for promotional appearances. Saturday Night Live has been smart with bookings, including Timothée Chalamet for this week, followed by Jason Momoa on November 18. Both happen to have major Warner Bros. releases for the holidays – Wonka And Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, or – but even if the preliminary agreement is not reached, SNL I could tell they were booked for other promotions (Chalamet has an appearance at Chanel, Momoa has a connection to fashion). Warners no doubt plans to make ad buys for both shows. It’s not uncommon for there to be a strike or not, but maybe the show itself has something to do with it Wonka and whether Aquarius-related references.

Now that the strike is over (pending ratification by SAG/AFTRA members), awards season, which caused collateral damage from the work stoppage, appears to be just in time — and you can bet it’s in full swing beforehand.

Fasten your seat belts.