Sarah Silverman has seen the so-called SAG waivers — and she’s not a fan.
In a recent video posted to Instagram, the comedian slash actor slammed fellow Hollywood stars for continuing to film independent, SAG-AFTRA-approved projects under interim agreements as actors and writers remain on strike.
“Can somebody explain to me what I’m not understanding? Because I feel fucking pissed off. And I know I just must not be understanding something,” Silverman said at the start of her video posted Thursday night.
In her nearly three-minute long spiel, Silverman expressed her anger towards SAG-AFTRA members for shooting indie movies, despite those titles having received permission from the union itself which allow selected independent films to continue production.
Silverman argued that while they are being produced by independent companies, the films will eventually head to streaming where big streamers will reap the benefits. “I got offered an indie movie, I fucking said no, and so did a bunch of my friends,” she continued. “And now some of my friends are saying yes, I’m really pissed.”
“It’s called union strong, where we are all together,” added Silverman, whose last major role was voicing Vanellope von Schweetz in the 2018 Disney animated film “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
“We should see every movie star out there striking along because you have insurance because of your union,” she said. “And you get residuals because of your union. All these things that you get because of your union, and you can’t stand with your union?”
She ended the video by saying: “So, I don’t know if I’m mad at these movie stars that are making these indie movies that are obviously going to go to streaming, or am I mad at SAG for making this interim deal for these indie movies?”
Fellow actors were quick to respond to Silverman’s rant underneath her post.
“Call me an idealist but my HOPE is that there is a big mid-range indie movie renaissance that goes into theatres that are NOT waiting to be ‘sold’ [to] streamers,” wrote Juliette Lewis in a comment. “My brother, who is a laborer — I would love him to work on an independent production. Bunch of my friend’s in other states have had their unemployment checks run out, so if there’s movie productions that are not going to streamers — I’m for it for my crew and family.”
In another comment, Zooey Deschanel wrote, “I think we are striking certain particular contractual agreements with the amptp — not all work,” while Amy Sedaris gave Silverman a “Right on” and Ike Barinholtz chimed in with an “Amen sis.”
To get an interim agreement, productions must be independent of the AMPTP and also agree to the most recent terms offered by SAG-AFTRA in bargaining. SAG-AFTRA has stressed that the agreements thus should not be considered “waivers.”
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, has encouraged members to work under interim agreements. He has argued that if independent productions can accept the union’s terms, that shows that the union is not being “unrealistic” in its bargaining positions.
