“Megalopolis,” the highly anticipated passion project of Francis Ford Coppola, is the latest film to get an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA. The film wrapped up production earlier this year, so it is unknown what the agreement will be used for. The interim agreement was granted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2023.
“Megalopolis” is about an architect wanting to rebuild New York City as a utopia after a devastating disaster. The film stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, and many more. Coppola wrote the script and filming took place in Atlanta and New York. With a budget of just under $100 million, Coppola assures the film is on schedule and on budget.
Applications for SAG-AFTRA’s interim agreements have been available since the strike began on July 14th. Though the guild received hundreds of applications, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, assures they will all be looked at. So long as no “AMPTP fingerprints” are on the applications, they should be granted the agreement. The process for approving applications has since refined, excluding projects outside of the U.S. that are covered by the WGA strike.
The solidarity between the two strikes is really admirable. What’s even more admirable is the public support for the actors and writers. Maybe the AMPTP will realize that not even a crisis agency can save their image with the public.
The WGA has been on strike for 1/3 of the year (122 days), with SAG-AFTRA approaching their 50th day on strike.
