Dwayne Johnson Made Largest Individual Donation Ever to SAG-AFTRA Foundation
Almost two weeks into the SAG-AFTRA strike and three months into the WGA strike, things are not looking good for the actors or writers. The AMPTP, the umbrella organization that includes the major Hollywood studios, has not yet sat down with either guild to restart negotiations for a new contract with them, and word on the street is that this could go on for even longer; studios are already looking into reshuffling their fall schedule, with Dune: Part Two, The Color Purple, and even The Marvels possibly on the chopping block, after Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, which needs Zendaya to spearhead the marketing, bowed out as the Venice Film Festival opener and of the 2023 fall schedule altogether.
As such, the expectation is that actors will have to eventually accept whatever deal the studios offer just so they can keep paying rent, as sad as that is. To try to prevent that, as reported by Variety, the president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation (a nonprofit dedicated to “providing the most comprehensive, educational and state-of-the-art resources to SAG-AFTRA members”), Courtney B. Vance, and executive director, Cyd Wilson, sent a letter to the 2,700 highest-paid members of the actors’ guild where they detailed the need for financial assistance of the vast majority of their members. It was announced recently that 87% of the members of the guild make under $26,000/year.
For now, only one name has emerged to have stepped up (though that doesn’t mean he was the only one). The Foundation confirmed to Variety that Dwayne Johnson made a “seven-figure” donation to the organization, the largest ever received by a single individual. Though the exact number is being kept confidential, Variety says that they estimate between 7,000 and 10,000 members of SAG-AFTRA will need help during the work stoppage. Said Vance about their call with Johnson:
“It was a love fest. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re stepping up in a way that is allowing others to know the dire necessity of it.’ This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.
It is a call to arms for all of us to know that we just have to step up however you can. If your step up is $10, step up. Because that $10 is going to help somebody. If it’s $10,000, if it’s $10 million, step up, because we have to. Everyone knows what happens when you go on strike, when you stand for something — as the saying goes, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything — you can’t stand unless you have support underneath you, on the side, up top and up front. So Dwayne is letting everyone know, ‘I’m here. What are you going to do?’”
Whether or not more big Hollywood names will join Johnson or not, only time will tell. But as the SAG-AFTRA strike extends into the summer (it is expected to go on until at least Labor Day), the truth is that more and more actors will be needing some income to pay rent. The bulk of the summer movie season is now behind us, with only a couple of major titles left to be released, and only one driven by names that could actually spice up the promotional campaign, this Friday’s Haunted Mansion.
Even Blue Beetle, DC’s next feature, is populated by emerging actors rather than established personalities that could actually generate some buzz — after all, if the biggest name on your credits is Becky G as the voice of the scarab, is anyone surprised the movie is tracking to make $15M tops opening weekend?
The focus will then shift to the fall schedule and the various film festivals. Just this week, both Venice and Toronto announced their lineups, and the former seems to not have been affected by the strike outside of Challengers moving out. Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, David Fincher’s The Killer, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Michael Mann’s Ferrari, and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla will debut there, among a long list of other titles. Deadline reported today that some of the big titles applied for an interim agreement to SAG-AFTRA so their stars can walk the red carpet, as the projects were made outside the AMPTP contract.
Stay tuned as the situation continues to evolve.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
