13 July 2023 , 19:25
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The cast of Oppenheimer has walked out of the UK premiere to show support for the ongoing actors' strikes.
Cillian Murphy was joined by Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon and Rami Malek as they walked the red carpet an hour earlier than scheduled in order to join the walkout. It comes after the US actors union Sag-Aftra announced its first major members strike in over 40 years.
However, just moments into the event at the Odeon in Leicester Square, director Christopher Nolan explained that the star-studded line-up had left.
In front of the audience, Nolan said: "You've seen them here earlier on the red carpet. Unfortunately, they're off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by Sag, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the unions, and we support them."
The Oppenheimer cast have walked out of their London premiere (ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Before the movie started inside the cinema, Matt Damon explained that he and his co-stars were walking out in "solidarity". Explaining to Variety, he said that once the strike was officially called, they were "going to walk obviously in solidarity".
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He went on to say: "That's why we moved this [red carpet] up because we know the second it's called, we're going home."
Speaking to the Associated Press, he added: "We ought to protect the people who are kind of on the margins. And 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people whose residual payments are what carry them across that threshold.
"And if those residual payments dry up, so does their health care. And that's absolutely unacceptable. We can´t have that. So, we got to figure out something that is fair."
Christopher Nolan (left) showed his support to the actors (ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The decision to strike came after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to produce new contracts for members on Thursday. It comes after weeks of bargaining with the AMPTP who represent some of the biggest studios and streaming platforms.
Union president Fran Drescher announced the strike which started at midnight Pacific Time in the US.
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Ms Drescher said: "This is a very seminal hour for us. The gravity of this move is not lost on me … it's a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall now we are all going to be in trouble. The jig is up AMPTP, we stand tall, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. You cannot exist without us."
When asked how long the strike may take, she added: "That's up to them, we are open to talking to them tonight. All of this is because of their behaviour, it's up to them if they want to talk in a normal way."
The cast joins the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Mark Ruffalo who have all decided to join the strike. It comes after Disney boss Bob Iger claimed those taking part are "not being realistic" and are being "disruptive" to the movie industry. The strike is the first the industry has faced in over four decades.