Adam Driver criticises streamers for not meeting SAG-AFTRA demands
Adam Driver has criticised streaming services for refusing to comply with the demands made by the Screen Actors Guild as a part of the ongoing strike between them and the Writer’s Guild of America.
“I’m very proud to be here to be a visual representation of a movie that’s not part of the AMPTP and to promote the SAG leadership directive, which is an effective tactic, which is the interim agreement,” Driver told the media at the Venice International Film Festival this week.
Driver, along with the stars and makers behind Michael Mann’s newest film Ferrari, are able to promote the film at various festivals thanks to an agreement to follow guidelines laid out by the Screen Actor’s Guild. Driver, who has previously worked closely with Netflix on a series of films, has become critical of their inability to follow the same guidelines.
“The other objective is obviously to say, why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon and STX International can meet the dream demands of what SAG is asking for — this is pre-negotiations — the dream version of SAG’s wishlist, but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can’t?” Driver wondered.
“And every time people from SAG go and support a movie that has met the terms of the interim agreement, it just makes it more obvious that these people are willing to support the people that they collaborate with, and the others are not,” he concluded.
In the United States, Ferrari is being distributed by Neon, and independent film company that works closely with the Screen Actor’s Guild. According to director Michael Mann, the film only got made thanks to the monetary sacrifices made by the cast and crew.
“Ferrari got made because the people who worked on Ferrari made it by forgoing large sectors of salaries, in the case of Adam and myself,” Mann said. “It was not made by a big studio — no big studio wrote us a check. And that’s why we’re here, standing in solidarity.”
Ferrari is set for a December 25th release.
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