The cast of "Oppenheimer" left the film's London premiere in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA actor's strike, director Christopher Nolan confirmed, according to Deadline.
"I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast, led by Cillian Murphy," Nolan said from the UK premiere stage, per Deadline. "The list is enormous — Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and so many more... You've seen them here earlier on the red carpet."
"Unfortunately, they are 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 their union," he continued.
—Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 13, 2023
On Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA national board of directors voted unanimously to approve a strike, The Los Angeles Times reported, joining the writers' strike that has been underway since May 2. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher announced the board's decision at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
"Oppenheimer" is scheduled for theatrical release on July 21 — the same day as Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated "Barbie" movie.
Members of the "Oppenheimer" cast, whose premiere began hours before Drescher announced that the board had voted to strike, told publications including Variety and Deadline that they were in support of the strike. Matt Damon, who stars in the film, told Variety on the film's red carpet — which Variety reported had been moved up an hour to account for a potential strike announcement — that the cast had a plan.
"Look, if it's called now, everyone's going to walk obviously in solidarity... Once the strike is officially called, [we're walking]," he told Variety.
