As Canada’s film and television industry braces for disruption and work uncertainty, London film officials say the impact of a Hollywood actors strike will depend on how long the job action lasts.
Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members walked off the job Thursday at midnight, giving way to the first joint entertainment strike in more than six decades.
While major Canadian filming locations like Toronto and Vancouver are expected to feel the brunt of the strike’s effects immediately, London Film manager Andrew Dodd tells Global News the impact on London will be a “mixed bag.”
“Any domestic or non-union production … they are still expected to come here on schedule,” Dodd said on the first full day of strike action.
Because the Canadian section of the actors guild is not in a strike position, their roughly 28,000 members are instead in a position of “solidarity” with their American counterparts.
Dodd says that while having Canadian actors still eligible for work helps the country’s industry, the effects of the strike could still be felt.
“What we could see down the line is more American productions, if they were planning to come, that will probably have to delayed because of having American actors.”
At least one production that was set to arrive in London next month will now be postponed unless a quick resolution is found between the two striking guilds and American producers, Dodd said.
One production still expected to come back to London soon is the American film You Gotta Believe. Based on the story of a Texas team making the 2002 Little League World Series, the film stars Americans Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear and Molly Parker, with Canadian Sarah Gordon also on board.
Despite the major American stars, Dodd says production is expected to return to Labatt Park on July 17 and 18, largely thanks to many of the baseball player actors being Canadian and the strike not coming as a surprise.
“I think any projects that are currently in production knew to account for the fact that they may lose their actors,” said Dodd.
The U.S. dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — which represents employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others — has largely centred on compensation, benefits and guarantees around the use of artificial intelligence.
Should the strike last long enough that American productions in Canada are being affected, Dodd says the strike could have a ripple effect on the economy.
“An American production, if they know they are shooting in Canada, will get a subcontract with a Canadian production company to manage that part of production happening in Canada,” Dodd said.
“Everyone wants this to be resolved as quickly as possible.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
Comments