The Hollywood Reporter
Brian Cox and others at an Equity union rally in support of SAG-AFTRA in London
An impressive lineup of British and U.K.-based stars were on the call sheet for a London rally held in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Organized by the U.K. actors union Equity, which has declared its “total solidarity in this fight” by SAG-AFTRA and its members, the upbeat and noisy event was held in London’s cinema hub of Leicester Square on Friday. Ironically, this location provided the backdrop for one of the first headlines of the strike, as it was here where Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and the stars of Oppenheimer walked out of the film’s U.K. premiere, which happened to take place the night the industrial action was called on July 13. Equity is also held a rally simultaneously in Manchester’s Media City U.K.
Among the names standing in front of a large Equity banner (itself in front of a statue of William Shakespeare) at the rally — attended by roughly 300 people in the central spot — were British acting royalty in the shape of Brian Cox, David Oyelowo, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter. U.S. expat Rob Delaney (and joint SAG-AFTRA and Equity member), meanwhile, acted as compere, introducing the various speakers from both the entertainment and trade union world, but also giving an opening speech in which, to rousing cheers, he asserted that actors would — ultimately — win the fight.
“We’re gonna win … we’re gonna withhold our labor and we’re gonna get our tiny little slice of the pie. The pie that we made up the friggin’ recipe for and wrote the cookbook for and posed for funny pictures beside the pie for,” he said, adding that he was recently shooting a project in Pinewood that shut down due to the strike.
“I don’t hate them,” Delaney said of the AMPTP. “They’re like toddlers. So you’ve gotta show them, you gotta say ‘No.’ And they brag like toddlers. They have these earnings calls and they talk about the subscriber numbers and the blockbuster numbers. Then we ask for a nickel and they’re like, ‘No, no, we don’t have any.’ Well, which one is true? We know which one is true. We’re gonna win. That’s what’s gonna happen. You silly little toddlers.”
Among the main speakers at the rally was Cox, who launched into a fiery attack on AI, explaining how just this morning he was contacted by an actor currently in negotiations.
“He’s playing a reasonable part in a TV show and he’s on a what they call a supporting artists contract,” he said. “The horrible thing was that he was told in no uncertain terms that they would keep his image and do what the fuck they liked with it. That is a completely unacceptable position and a position we should be fighting against.”
Cox also revealed how he was recently on a program where he was “given a “list of things” that an “artificial intelligence Brian Cox” was going to say.
“The artificial intelligence Brian Cox was gonna do animal impersonations. I’ve never done a fucking animal impersonation and I wouldn’t know where to begin!,” he exclaimed, adding that it made him realize how “scary” AI was. “This is gonna happen to everybody. Nobody’s exempt.”
The rally was brought to a close after about 40 minutes of speeches by Equity chief Paul W. Fleming, who declared his union’s “110 percent solidarity” with SAG-AFTRA “now and tomorrow.”
Fleming exclaimed that while Equity contracts were as strong as those from SAG-AFTRA, “they will not be used to undermine or break the strike in any way at all.”
After the SAG-AFTRA strike was called, Equity said it would support it by “all legal means.” However, as The Hollywood Reporter detailed earlier this week, the U.K.’s strict anti-strike legislation hamstrings much activity for both Equity and its members. While the union can organize rallies such as the ones in London and Manchester, it can’t call for a sympathy strike, which is deemed unlawful.
The union has also advised its members to continue to work if they’re under Equity contracts, noting that they wouldn’t have any legal protection covering striking workers should they face disciplinary action or be sued for breach of contract.
Fleming outlined the successive laws put in place since Margaret Thatcher was in power to curtail strike action, noting that the Conservative government this year had banned “noisy protests.”
He added, to loud cheers: “Well, I’ll tell you what, I don’t see a quiet protest today.”
Source: Hollywood Reporter
