Oppenheimer cast walk out of UK premiere in ‘solidarity’ with actors’ strike

The Oppenheimer cast walked out of UK premiere in ‘solidarity’ with the actors’ strike on Wednesday night.

The likes of Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Rami Malek walked the red carpet at the Odeon in Leicester Square earlier in the night.

But the group left the event prematurely to ‘go and write their picket signs’ in preparation for the ‘imminent’ strike by the actors’ union. 

The last minute change came after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced it had voted in favour of taking action, after a deadline to reach a deal passed.

Director Christopher Nolan told the cinema’s audience: ‘You’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet.

Taking a stand: The Oppenheimer cast walked out of UK premiere in ‘solidarity’ with actors’ strike on Wednesday night (L-R: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, and Florence Pugh)

Director Christopher Nolan told the cinema’s audience: ‘Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by Sag’

‘Unfortunately, they’re 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 the unions, and we support them.’

In a red-carpet interview with Variety on the night, Damon revealed that ‘once the strike is officially called’, the cast is ‘going to walk obviously in solidarity’.

‘That’s why we moved this [red carpet] up because we know the second it’s called, we’re going home,’ he said.

Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet earlier, Emily added: ‘I hope everyone makes a fair deal and we are here to celebrate this movie. 

‘And if they call [a strike], we’ll be leaving together as cast in unity with everyone. … We are gonna have to. We are gonna have to. We will see what happens. Right now it’s the joy to be together.’ 

Sag-aftra is expected to rule in favour of a picket line after its negotiating committee had unanimously voted to recommend its 160,000 members go on strike on June 12.

The decision has the potential of bringing a simultaneous strike from actors and writers for the first time in 60 years. 

Undeterred by the earlier start time, the cast were dressed to the nines on the red carpet with Florence bringing the drama in a plunging burnt orange dress.

The actress made sure all eyes were on her in the plunging number which flashed some side boob and had a daring cut-out section across her midriff.

Emily, meanwhile, wowed in a black sequin gown which had skirt fringing and a cut-out section at the midriff.

Tension: The last minute change came after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced it had voted in favour of taking action, after a deadline to reach a deal passed’

Oh dear: The untimely clash is a bit of a blow to Christopher who has shelled out £81million on the blockbuster production, set to hit UK cinemas on July 21

Plan: In a red-carpet interview with Variety on the night, Damon revealed that ‘once the strike is officially called’, the cast is ‘going to walk obviously in solidarity’

The untimely clash is a bit of a blow to Christopher who has shelled out £81million on the blockbuster production, set to hit UK cinemas on July 21. 

Peaky Blinders star Cillian takes on the role of Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer, the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ and, after the Paris premiere earlier this week, critics have  tipped it to win big. 

Emily takes on the role of physicist Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, while Florence plays Jean Tatlock, a psychiatrist, Communist Party member, and close friend of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Florence ensured all eyes were on her as she posed with the cast. She added a dramatic and glamorous touch with the puffy skirt and accessorised with silver hoop earrings.

Emily, meanwhile, styled her blonde locks in soft waves and added a boost to her height with black heels. 

The actress starred alongside Cillian in A Quiet Place Part 2 and the duo hugged on the black carpet. 

The film is being adapted from the 2006 book American Prometheus: The Triumph And Tragedy Of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

The book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, details Oppenheimer’s personal life and his time leading the Manhattan Project in the early and mid-1940s.

The film has already been hailed as a contender to scoop multiple awards. 

Journalists have taken to Twitter to share their glowing reviews of the movie, with one critic describing how the film ‘split my brain open’ and ‘left me sobbing through the end credits’. 

The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin wrote: ‘Am torn between being all coy and mysterious about Oppenheimer and just coming out and saying it’s a total knockout’

Elsa Keslassy of Variety added: ‘A sign that French audiences loved #Oppenheimer is that they stayed in front of the Grand Rex theater long after the film ended to debate about it!’

A whole host of Hollywood stars, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Mark Ruffalo, are poised to join writers on strike for the first time in 60 years.

Thousands of members of the Writers Guild of America have downed tools after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over pay fell apart.

At the center of the row is the rise of streaming – with the guild claiming that even as budgets have increased, writers’ share of that cash has consistently shrunk. 

Attending a photo event on Wednesday, Oppenheimer star Matt said while everyone was hoping a strike could be averted, he said many actors need a fair contract to survive.

‘We ought to protect the people who are kind of on the margins,’ Damon told the AP.

‘And 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people whose residual payments are what carry them across that threshold. 

‘And if those residual payments dry up, so does their health care. And that´s absolutely unacceptable. We can´t have that. So, we got to figure out something that is fair.’

It is the first time since 1960 that actors and writers picket film and television productions.

Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May  slowing the production of film and television series on both coasts and in production centers like Atlanta.

Words: Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet earlier, Emily added: ‘I hope everyone makes a fair deal and we are here to celebrate this movie’

A spokesperson for SAG said: ‘After more than four weeks of bargaining, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – the entity that represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery – remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to Sag-Aftra members. 

 ‘The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. 

‘Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal.

‘We have no choice but to move forward in unity, and on behalf of our membership, with a strike recommendation to our national board. 

‘The board will discuss the issue this morning and will make its decision.’