Another major feature film has seen its production brought to a halt, at least temporarily, amid picketing related to the ongoing WGA strike. TheWrap has confirmed that “Unstoppable,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jerome, paused early Wednesday amid picketing at their location near University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
It is not known whether the Artists Equity production will resume shooting Thursday. This is just the latest mid-production feature to have its schedule halted due to picketers, as Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune” was one of the first such films to be brought to a standstill two weeks ago.
The true-story drama “Unstoppable” features Jerome — Emmy winner for Ava DeVurnay’s acclaimed Netflix miniseries “When They See Us” — as Anthony Robles. Robles was a three-time All-American wrestler born with one leg who nonetheless won a national championship at Arizona State. Robles retired from the sport in the early 2010s and has served as a commentator for NCAA wrestling since 2012. Lopez, most recently seen in Netflix’s actioner “The Mother,” will play his mother.
The feature, directed by William Goldenberg, is Artists Equity’s second film following the Ben Affleck-directed “Air.” That sports business underdog story, chronicling how Nike became a titan in the shoe industry by betting on then-rookie Michael Jordan, played theatrically earlier this year and grossed $90 million worldwide. Amazon acquired the film for $130 million. There is no official word as to whether “Unstoppable” will end up at Amazon or elsewhere.
“Air,” starring Affleck, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman and Chris Tucker, was edited by Goldberg while “Unstoppable” will mark his directorial debut. The longtime editor has a resume spanning from “Alive” in 1993 to “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” opening globally next weekend. He has previously cut several Michael Mann films — including “Heat” and “The Insider” — as well as four out of five previous Affleck directorial efforts (Dylan Tichenor cut “The Town”).
There is some irony in the WGA strikers targeting a film produced by Affleck and Damon’s company, which sells itself as a firm proponent of below-the-line profit participation. However, in any war, there are comparatively innocent bystanders as well as conflicts among parties with relatively shared interests.
Deadline first reported this news.
