The cast of Oppenheimer were spotted walking out of their own London premiere as Hollywood’s actors joined their writer colleagues on strike.
Stars including Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh appear to be standing united to support the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) as the union joined the writers’ strike.
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The hotly-anticipated Christopher Nolan-directed war drama Oppenheimer follows the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Stars of the film appeared on the red carpet of the film’s UK premiere on Thursday before the strike was officially announced, but they ended up walking out of the event “to write their picket signs,” according to Nolan.
Addressing the audience inside the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square theatre before the screening began, as seen in videos posted to social media, Nolan acknowledged the work of Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and Robert Downey Jr., among other Oppenheimer cast members.
Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh attend the UK premiere of Oppenheimer before leaving after going on strike. Credit: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Universal Pictu
“We have to acknowledge (that) you’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet,” Nolan said.
“Unfortunately they’re off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG.”
Nolan said the actors who left the Oppenheimer premiere in support of the union that represents them were joining “one of my guilds, the Writer’s Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the union, and we support them”.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May.
Blunt told Deadline on the Oppenheimer red carpet Thursday, before the cast walking out of the screening and prior to the strike’s official commencement, that her hopes were that “everyone makes a fair deal and we are here to celebrate this movie”.
“And if they call (the strike), we’ll be leaving together as a cast in unity with everyone,” Blunt said.
“We are gonna have to. So we will see what happens. Right now it’s the joy to be together.”
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher announced in an impassioned speech during a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday that the union will go on strike.
Oppenheimer is scheduled to appear in cinemas from July 21.
Blunt announces break
The movie’s release comes as one of its stars Emily Blunt announces a break from acting.
Asked by Table for Two podcast host Bruce Bozzi how she manages her career with being a mother, Blunt said: “Not always well, you know.
“It’s one of those things when people are like, ‘How do you balance it?’,” she added.
“I never feel like I’m doing it right, you know.
“But this year I’m not working.”
Since the birth of Blunt and husband John Krasinski’s two daughters, Hazel and Violet in 2014 and 2016 respectively, the British actress has worked on various films.
Some include A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II, Mary Poppins Returns and the 2022 TV mini-series The English.
She has several upcoming projects including Oppenheimer.
“I worked quite a bit last year and my oldest baby is nine – like we’re in the last year of single digits – and I just feel there’s cornerstones to their day that is so important when they’re little,” Blunt said.
“And it’s, ‘Will you wake me up?’, ‘Will you take me to school?’, ‘Will you pick me up?’, ‘Will you put me to bed?’
“And I just need to be there for all of them. For a good stretch.
“And I just felt that in my bones.”
– With CNN
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