What does the SAG-AFTRA strike mean for Philly film, TV production?

For the first time since 1960, actors and writers are picketing film and TV productions at the same time.

Peter Crimmins

July 14, 2023

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, center, and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, center right speak alongside SAG-AFTRA members during a press conference announcing a strike by The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Thursday, July, 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

A film industry strike launched by the union representing Hollywood actors and performers may not have much of an impact on movie and TV productions in Philadelphia.

That’s because most of that work has already been shut down since May, when the Writers Guild of America launched its strike against the studios.

Adam Rottwit, a senior vice president at Sun Center Studio, a soundstage campus in Chester that caters to large-scale film, TV, and streaming movie productions, said their lot is “pretty quiet right now.”

“We’re rooting for a swift resolution to the labor dispute,” he said. “But now SAG throwing their hat in the ring and complicating that further. It might be a while before the industry is back to work.”

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Members of SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike Friday after contract negotiations with major studios broke down.

The Philadelphia Film Office said all film productions that were scheduled for this summer had already been put on hold.

Sinking Spring, an Apple TV+ series that began filming in and around Philadelphia in February, had previously shut down due to the writers strike.

“With actors now picketing as well, we don’t know when this and our future projects will resume production in the region,” said Erin Wagner, a production coordinator at the Philadelphia Film Office.

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SAG-AFTRA officials said the studios were unwilling to offer a fair deal, citing issues over living wages, residuals from streaming platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence.

Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the union’s expectations are not realistic.

Union president Fran Drescher said in a press conference Thursday that it was time for studio executives to “wake up and smell the coffee.”

Disclosure: Many WHYY News staffers are members of SAG-AFTRA but operate under a different contract than that of Hollywood actors.

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