Tag: #Oppenheimer

  • Oppenheimer rules at Oscars

    Oppenheimer rules at Oscars

    The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are a big deal in the world of movies. They’re like a gold stamp of approval for the best films and performances of the year. Let’s take a look at who took home the top honors at the 2024 Oscars!
    Best Film : ‘Oppenheimer’
    ‘Oppenheimer’ was the big winner of the night, grabbing the prestigious Best Picture award.
    Best Actor in a Leading Role: Cillian Murphy
    Cillian Murphy gave an outstanding performance in ‘Oppenheimer’ and was rewarded with the Best Actor award.
    Best Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone
    Emma Stone shined bright in ‘Poor Things’ and earned herself the Best Actress award. Her talent and dedication to her role didn’t go unnoticed, and she rightfully took home this honor.

    Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr.
    Robert Downey Jr. impressed everyone with his performance in ‘Oppenheimer’ and clinched the Best Supporting Actor award. His portrayal added depth to the movie and earned him well-deserved recognition.

    Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Da’Vine Joy Randolph
    Da’Vine Joy Randolph delivered a standout performance in ‘The Holdovers’ and won the hearts of the judges, earning her the Best Supporting Actress award. Her talent and presence on screen made a lasting impact.
    Best Director: Christopher Nola

    ‘Oppenheimer’ not only won Best Picture but also earned Christopher Nolan the title of Best Director. His vision and skillful direction brought the story to life and made it a standout film of the year.
    ‘Oppenheimer’ had a night to remember, taking home a total of seven awards. In addition to the ones mentioned above, the movie also won for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. It truly was a remarkable achievement for everyone involved in the making of this outstanding film.

    The 2024 Oscars showcased the incredible talent and creativity present in the world of cinema. Congratulations to all the winners for their well-deserved recognition!

  • ‘Oppenheimer’ dominates BAFTAs in major Oscars boost

    ‘Oppenheimer’ dominates BAFTAs in major Oscars boost

    “Oppenheimer”, Christopher Nolan’s epic movie about the creation of the atomic bomb, swept the board at Sunday’s BAFTA film awards in London, delivering a serious statement ahead of next month’s Oscars.

    The movie earned seven awards in total, including best film, best director for Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy and best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr.

    In the film, Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the US theoretical physicist often called the “father of the atomic bomb” who was haunted by the consequences of his creation.

    The film has grossed more than $1 billion, already won big at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards and is now the clear frontrunner for Oscars glory.

    It was Murphy’s first BAFTA, and he thanked Nolan for “seeing something in me I probably didn’t see myself” when collecting the award at the ceremony in London’s Royal Festival Hall.

    He later told reporters the success was “mind-blowing”, adding he was “thrilled and a little shocked”.

    Despite boasting numerous commercial successes such as “Inception” and “The Dark Knight”, Nolan had never won the best director BAFTA before.

    It was Downey Jr’s second BAFTA, having won the best actor gong 31 years ago for playing Charlie Chaplin.

    On accepting the award, the US star joked that Nolan advised he attempt an understated approach to the role of Lewis Strauss, a member of the US Atomic Energy Commission, in order to restore “my dwindling credibility”.

    ‘Poor things’ wins five

    It was also a good night for surreal dark comedy “Poor Things”, which won five awards including best actress for Emma Stone, who also won the gong in 2017 for “La La Land”.

    In the film, Stone plays a Victorian reanimated corpse brought back to life with the spirit of a child by a mad scientist in a female “Frankenstein” story.

    The US actress has already scooped Golden Globe and Critics Choice best actress awards for her no-holds-barred performance.

    She beat off competition from “Barbie” star Margot Robbie, with both earlier hitting the red carpet along with fellow Hollywood heavyweights Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper.

    Britain’s royal family was represented at the ceremony, hosted by Scottish actor David Tennant, by Prince William in his capacity as BAFTA president.

    It was his most important engagement since returning to duties following his wife Catherine’s abdominal operation, and news of his father King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.

    William saw US actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph pick up the best supporting actress award for her role in 1970s-set prep school comedy “The Holdovers”.

    Randolph raised a laugh when she turned to UK actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who gave her the award, and told him: “You are so handsome. I was hoping you were going to be here and woah. Worth it.”

    ‘Barbenheimer’

    In the best film category, “Oppenheimer” won out ahead of French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall”, “The Holdovers” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”.

    Both Scorsese and his historical epic’s leading man Leonardo DiCaprio missed out on individual BAFTA nods but the movie amassed nine nominations in total, including for best film.

    Cooper’s biopic about US conductor Leonard Bernstein was also nominated for original screenplay (shared with screenwriter Josh Singer) and best actor. However, “The Hangover” star left the ceremony empty-handed.

    The BAFTA shortlist was another disappointment for “Barbie” — the other half of last summer’s “Barbenheimer” box office phenomenon — which only managed five nominations.

    Greta Gerwig’s film, which turned nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, has so far failed to capture the number of top prizes expected of it this awards season.

    Jonathan Glazer’s harrowing “The Zone of Interest”, about a Nazi concentration camp commander and his family living next to Auschwitz, took home three awards including best British film, best film not in the English language and best sound.

    “The Boy and the Heron” by celebrated Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki won best animated film.

  • ‘Oppenheimer’ leads SAG nominations as Gala moves to Netflix

    ‘Oppenheimer’ leads SAG nominations as Gala moves to Netflix

    Fresh from its wins at the Golden Globes, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” on Wednesday topped the nominations for the influential Screen Actors Guild Awards, which are key to Oscars success.

    The SAG Awards, voted on by Hollywood actors, are likely to enjoy a profile boost of their own this year as they are broadcast globally on Netflix -an awards show first for the world’s biggest streamer.

    “Oppenheimer,” which tells the story of the inventor of the atomic bomb, earned nods for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt, as well as “outstanding performance by a cast” – the SAG Awards’ top prize.

    Nolan’s three-hour epic, which earned nearly $1 billion and received rave reviews from critics, is rapidly becoming the clear favorite for the Academy Awards in March.

    “Barbie” -the other half of last summer’s “Barbenheimer” box office phenomenon, and the year’s highest-grossing film -picked up nominations for Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and the overall cast.

    The surreal comedy based on the wildly popular doll also picked up a nomination for its stunt performers.

    The other films with three acting nominations were the historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” -despite its leading man Leonardo DiCaprio missing out — and the scathing satire “American Fiction,” starring Jeffrey Wright.

    Both movies are nominated for best cast, with the musical remake “The Color Purple” rounding out that category.

    This year’s SAG Awards gala, held on February 24, will be streamed on Netflix, as the platform slowly moves into hosting live events.

    The Screen Actors Guild will bestow a lifetime achievement award on Barbra Streisand.

    In a statement, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher praised the EGOT -Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony – winner as “a colossal icon with a relentless work ethic, evolving with each stage of her remarkable journey.”

    Speeches at next month’s gala are certain to feature multiple references to last year’s Hollywood strikes, which saw the industry shut down as SAG-AFTRA – along with the writers’ guild -went head-to-head with studios.

    A deal was finally reached to end the actors’ strike in November.

    While Netflix will host the gala, none of its films were nominated for the night’s biggest prize.

    But the streamer did land five movie nominations, including Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan for Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” and Jodie Foster and Annette Bening for “Nyad.”

    Elsewhere, Globes winners Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph picked up nods for “The Holdovers,” as did Emma Stone and her co-star Willem Dafoe for “Poor Things.”

    All four films missed out on nominations for Outstanding Cast.

    The winner of that prize has gone on to win the best picture at the Oscars in three of the past four years (“Parasite,” “CODA” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once”).

    Actors represent the biggest branch of the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes for the Oscars.

    The SAG Awards also honor television, with “Succession” on top with five nods, followed by “The Bear,” “The Last of Us” and “Ted Lasso,” all on four.

    Hollywood’s Directors’ Guild also announced its own nominations Wednesday.

    Both Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” again made the shortlist of five nominees for the Directors Guild of America’s best film.

    They were joined by Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon, “Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” and “Poor Things” from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.

    The DGA Awards will take place on February 10.

  • Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s drama about the inventor of the atomic bomb, topped the Golden Globes on January 7 – but its fellow summer smash hit Barbie missed out on best comedy film honours to Poor Things.

    Oppenheimer took five prizes, including best drama, best director for Nolan, best score, as well as acting wins for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

    Emma Thomas, the film’s producer and Nolan’s wife, said her husband’s three-hour epic about “one of the darkest developments in our history” is “unlike anything anyone else is doing”.

    Murphy, who plays brilliant scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, hailed his “visionary director”, while Downey Jr, portraying the protagonist’s bitter rival, praised the movie as a “masterpiece.”

    In winning best director, Nolan fended off Greta Gerwig, who helmed Barbie – the other half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that grossed a combined US$2.4 billion (S$3.2 billion) last year at the box office.

    Turning nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, Barbie was the leading film heading into the night with nine nominations, but ended the gala with just two prizes.

    It won the award for best song, for a tune written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. And as the year’s highest grossing movie, it claimed a newly created trophy for box office achievement.

    “We would like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth, the movie theatres,” said Margot Robbie, the film’s star and producer.

    “Thank you to all the Barbies and Kens in front of and behind the screen,” added Gerwig.

    But Barbie surprisingly lost out on best comedy to Poor Things – a surreal, sexy bildungsroman which also earned Emma Stone best actress for her no-holds-barred turn as Bella Baxter.

    “Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently,” said Stone.

    After an annus horribilis in which the industry was crippled by strikes, A-listers turned out in force to celebrate Sunday.

    Stars who were unable to promote their movies during the months-long Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) walkout used the occasion to make up for lost time on the Oscars campaign trail.

    Along with movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, attendees included big names from the world of music such as Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa – both nominated for best song – and Taylor Swift representing her recent concert movie.

    “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL – on the Golden Globes, fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” joked host Jo Koy.

    The ongoing hype surrounding “Barbenheimer”, even months after the films’ releases, is a welcome boon to the new owners of the high-profile but consistently scandal-dogged Golden Globes.

    Private investors including US billionaire Todd Boehly purchased the awards after years of controversy and declining audiences, and have invested heavily in resetting a night once billed as “Hollywood’s biggest party”.

    The Globes were boycotted by the industry after allegations of corruption and racism rose to the surface in 2021, and the show was taken off air entirely a year later.

    Since then, the controversial group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists that created the Globes 80 years ago has been disbanded, and a wider net of overseas critics was brought in to choose this year’s winners.

    “Golden Globes journalists, thanks for changing your game,” said Downey Jr as he collected his prize.

    The Globes provide a timely boost for the Oscars. Nominations voting for the Academy Awards begins Thursday, with the Oscars taking place this year on March 10.

    Indigenous actor Lily Gladstone won best actress in a drama for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, delivering some of her emotional speech in the native language of the Blackfeet Nation.

    “This is an historic win, it doesn’t belong to just me,” she said.

    “This is for every little res kid.”

    Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph bolstered their Oscars campaigns with wins for The Holdovers, in which they starred as a curmudgeonly history teacher and cook of a 1970s prep school, respectively.

    Best screenplay and best non-English language film went to French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.”

    That film’s director and co-writer Justine Triet said she had assumed that “nobody is going to see this movie” about “a couple fighting, suicide, a dog vomiting… I mean, come on!”

    “This movie is about the truth, the impossibility of catching it,” she added.

    Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron won best animated film.

    The Globes also honour television.

    Succession (2018 to 2023) dominated, claiming best drama series, and acting wins for stars Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen.

    The Bear swept the comedy categories, while road-rage saga Beef did the same in limited series.

    Past Globes host Ricky Gervais, who did not attend, won best stand-up comedy performance, a new category. AFP

    List of winners at the 80th Golden Globes

    Film

    Best Drama: Oppenheimer

    Best Musical or Comedy: Poor Things

    Best Actor, Drama: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

    Best Actress, Drama: Lily Gladstone, Killers Of The Flower Moon

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone, Poor Things

    Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

    Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

    Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

    Best Screenplay: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Non-English Language Film: Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Barbie

    Best Animated Feature: The Boy And The Heron

    Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer

    Best Original Song: What Was I Made For? from Barbie, music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

    Television

    Best Drama Series: Succession

    Best Actor, Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, Succession

    Best Actress, Drama Series: Sarah Snook, Succession

    Best Musical or Comedy Series: The Bear

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

    Best Limited Series or TV Movie: Beef

    Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie: Steven Yeun, Beef

    Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie: Ali Wong, Beef

    Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown

    Best Supporting Actor: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

    Best Performance in Stand-up Comedy on Television: Ricky Gervais, Armageddon

  • Five standout events of the year 2023 in the world

    Five standout events of the year 2023 in the world

    Diplomats like Maliha Lodhi had predicted that 2023 was going to be a “world of uncertainty” and that proved somewhat true. The world witnessed a hotchpotch of events where at one end a positive step was taken to restore peace in the Middle East when China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia but Israel’s war on Gaza made everything fall apart.

    Apart from the man-made conflicts, nature also lashed out with climate change emerging as a dark reality the world can no longer ignore.

    Earthquake in Syria and Turkey

    Early in the year, a ferocious earthquake in Syria and Turkey cost more than 67, 000 lives, a staggering number. It hit southern and central parts of Turkey and northern and western parts of Syria on the morning of February 6. Thousands of buildings were destroyed with the severe magnitude 7.7 quake and aftershocks that struck Antakya within hours. It is estimated to be the most severe earthquake in Turkey since 1939.

    Iran and Saudi Arabia’s friendship mediated by China

    In an unexpected turn of events, China mediated a deal between arch-enemies Saudi Arabia and Iran in March, earlier this year, surprising the world. The thawing of relations was termed a major blow to the overpowering role of the USA in the region and was dubbed a “wave of reconciliation”.

    Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for the first time post the deal on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh on December 9, 2023, a moment for the history books.

    Titan submarine

    The tragedy of the Titan submarine came at a point when the world was witnessing the humongous tragedy of the immigrant boat disaster in Greece. In the first one, five men of rich backgrounds lost their lives in an adventurous pursuit while in the latter, 80 people died, and more than 500 went missing in the sea as the over-crowded ship sank.

    The glaring irony sent shockwaves all around the world where a group paid billions of dollars for their death in the name of seeing an archive deep in the sea and the other died by getting suffocated by being cramped in the basement of a ship. The illegal immigrants were denied entry in Greece and due to overloading, it sank. The incident also pointed towards the core racism in the world because the victims were largely brown Asians and Africans while the white population was saved by the authorities.

    Barbenheimer
    The Barbenheimer phenomenon marked the revival of cinema post-covid that engulfed the world in a frenzy.

    Two big-budget movies were coming out on the same day. One was Christopher Nolan’s directorial Oppenheimer, based on the life of the American scientist, the head of the Manhattan Project, and the creator of the Atomic Bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Even though it was about a scientist and the makers were expecting it to attract a niche audience, the movie did great business. The other was the Greta Gerwig directorial Barbie, a live-action, musical based on the life of the famous fictional doll. The audiences had high expectations of how it will be presented and they were not disappointed as the movie went on to break records. The release of the two movies activated the meme brigade to the point that a new pop-culture reference came to life in the form of Barbenheimmer.

    Israel’s War on Gaza

    The war that shook the world was the siege of Gaza by Israel. On October 7 Hamas invaded Israel and took at least 236 hostages. Israel retaliated in what is being called a disproportionate response. The genocide of the poor Gazans has not ended till now with the death toll nearing 21,000 after 80 days of war whereas the Israeli deaths remained at 1200. A short-term truce provided a little break for the return of hostages but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to not stop. Massive protests across the world saw the tide of public opinion turn towards Palestine.

    GAZA CITY, GAZA – OCTOBER 23: A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

  • Samosa recipes, Oppenheimer and Aliza Sahar; Pakistan’s most searched topics on Google in 2023

    Billions of topics are searched on Google every day and at the end of every year, the search engine releases a list of the most popular searches.

    Google has now released a list of the most searched topics in Pakistan during 2023.

    The eight different categories disclosed include cricket matches, events/occasions, how-to, news, recipes, TV shows and movies, technology and personalities.

    So, what has been searched under these categories?

    Cricket games

    Pakistan vs New Zealand was the most searched match in this category followed by the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Pakistan versus Australia in third, then India versus New Zealand, followed by Pakistan versus Netherlands in fifth place.

    Events/Occasions

    Pakistan Super League is at the top of this category followed by the Cricket World Cup, Asia Cup, Indian Premier League while the Ashes is on the fifth, respectively.

    Movies and TV shows

    This year in Pakistan the most searched movie was surprisingly from Hollywood rather than a Pakistani or Indian movie.

    Oppenheimer was the most searched followed by Shahrukh Khan’s Jawan (second) and Pathaan (third).

    Hollywood film Barbie was at the fourth position while Bollywood film Tiger 3 came fifth in the category.

    News

    The Gaza war topped the category in news that Pakistanis searched on Google.

    This was followed by Ehsaas program, Aliza Sahar, Akshay Kumar while Kajol came fifth, respectively.

    Recipes

    Forever-food-lovers, Pakistanis searched for samosa recipes followed by kaleji and then sheer khurma.

    Recipes for namkeen gosht and tomato ketchup recipes came in fourth and fifth respectively.

    Technology

    The top search in this category is not surprising as it has attracted people from all over the world over the past year: ChatGPT — chatbot based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which was introduced in November 2022 and went global in 2023.

  • Barbie is the first billion dollar film to be made by a female director

    Barbie is the first billion dollar film to be made by a female director

    Life in plastic is fantastic!

    As if leading a pink wave around the world wasn’t enough, cashing in a billion dollars from your first month in cinemas alone would be perfect. Warner Bros Pictures announced on Sunday that the Greta Gerwig directed film has broken records to make more than $1 billion dollars at the global box office, making Gerwig the first female director to accomplish this. The studio revealed that the movie took $459 million from North American theatres, and an extra $572 million from overseas screening, making a total of $1.0315 bn. Their final figures were confirmed by the media analytics firm Comscore:

    “As distribution chiefs, we’re not often rendered speechless by a film’s performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water,” said Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, who oversee domestic and international distribution for the studio.

    The film, which was written and directed by the Oscar-nominated Greta Gerwig, stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in leading roles, as Barbie travels from her fantasy world to the real world in an attempt to understand the recent unravelings happening to her.

    Oppenheimer, meanwhile, has officially become the highest grossing World War II film ever made, by crossing the $550 million mark at the global box office.

  • Pink explosion Vs nuclear bomb: Barbie beats Oppenheimer on opening weekend

    Pink explosion Vs nuclear bomb: Barbie beats Oppenheimer on opening weekend

    This Barbie just broke all the records to become a box office hit!

    After a highly anticipated opening weekend the numbers are in on who won Barbenheimer. Earning reports have declared that Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ has beaten all the Kens to become a box office smash, earning more than $155 million in North America and Canada on the opening weekend, putting Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ in second place with $80.5 million, as reported by Deadline.

    Both films released on July 21 after highly publicised marketing campaigns. All eyes in hit-starved Hollywood were on the two films with expectations running high after a disappointing summer season.

    ‘Barbie’ has also been hailed as the biggest opening weekend to be directed by a woman, surpassing 2019’s Captain Marvel ($153 million) and 2017’s Wonder Woman ($103 million).

    Barbie revolves around the iconic Matell doll of the same name, who travels to human’s world to discover the reality of her creation. The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in leading roles, while America Fererra plays a supporting role.

    Oppenheimer explores the life of the American scientist J Robert Oppenheimer as he invents the atomic bomb and later deals with the consequences of his creation.

  • Oppenheimer slammed for including sacred Bhagavad Gita text during sex scene

    Oppenheimer slammed for including sacred Bhagavad Gita text during sex scene

    Warning: Spoilers

    Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ opened in theatres across the world this weekend, with Cillian Murphy putting in a critically acclaimed performance as the American scientist J Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.

    One of the most pivotal moments about the film was Oppenheimer’s deep respect and admiration of the Hindu text ‘Bhagavad Gita’ which is part of the ‘Mahabharata’. The epic contains a dialogue between Prince Arjun and the divine Krishna as the former struggles with a moral dilemna. Oppenheimer famously quoted the lines ‘Now I am become death. Destroyer of the worlds’ after the first detonation of the atomic bomb on July 16, 1945.

    Murphy said in an interview that he consulted the text while preparing to perform in the film, and described it as “beautiful and inspiring”.

    However, a controversy arose from a sex scene between Jean Tatlock (played by Florence Pugh) and Oppenheimer, when she searches his book shelf, finds the Bhagavad Gita and holds it to her bare chest and asks Oppenheimer to recite the text while continuing intercourse.

    Hindus on Twitter have slammed the scene as insulting and insensitive towards their religion, with many calling for the government to ban ‘Oppenheimer’ in the country.

  • All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    In an unprecedent move, 160,000 Hollywood actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joined writers in strike against Hollywood after negotiations between the union and major studio networks failed.

    Much of Hollywood had shut down in May after writers went on strike, protesting against low pay as studios shifted to streaming, and the incorporation of A.I into writing scripts.

    The demands made by the actors union include fairer working conditions, and protection of actors against digital replicas like A.I and computer generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors. Another demand was that actors should receive better pay base and residuals- which are payments made to actors in television and films they have starred in.

    During the negotiations, network studios had offered what they called a ‘ground-breaking proposal’ that actors would be asked for consent when their digital replicas would be used in films, while background actors would be scanned and give one day’s pay for their digital image to be used on screen without their consent, which SAG said was unnacceptable:

    “They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity,” the SAG chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “If you think that’s a ground-breaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

    The cast of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ walked off the red carpet at the London premiere on Thursday, including A-list actors like Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, when the strikes were announced in the US.

    Addressing the strike during a red carpet interview, Damon defended fellow actors who were protesting for studios to provide better pay, sharing that royalty payments are a way for working actors to survive:

    “We got to protect the people who are kind of on the margins. 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people (for) who residual payments carry them across that threshold. If those residual payments dry up, so does their healthcare, and that’s absolutely unacceptable.”

    Announcing the SAG-AFTRA strike, President of the union Fran Drescher, called this a sad decision, which will greatly impact both writers and actors.

    “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. You are systematically trying to figure out ways to carve us out of what is due us. Shame on you!”