Studio Exec: “Fall Festivals Are F*cked”

I’m getting pandemic vibes all over again with this now officially begun screen actors strike. We’re talking about 160,000 SAG actors not allowed to work or participate in any kind of promotional work for the studios.

The industry has basically shut down and, judging by some of what the studio heads have said so far, I don’t think this will get resolved anytime soon.

The downstream effects could, especially, include the fall festivals. If the strike persists by then, Venice, Toronto and Telluride will not be the same this coming September. The three festivals run back to back from the end of August through mid September.

We’re not just talking about a lack of stars showing up to promote their films, but also studios actually pulling their films from these festivals.

One studio executive Bluntly tells Variety, “fall festivals are fucked […] You can’t premiere movies anywhere without your stars,” the executive said. “No stars, no movie.” He’s kind of right.

Why would studios shell out hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, to launch a movie at one of these gatherings?

Per SAG-AFTRA rules, studios cannot foot the bill to send any actors to a film festival, nor can actors attend studio-sponsored parties. This means the actor is forbidden to introduce or participate in any of the screening Q&As.

Sure, a director can show up and promote a film, and that could be enough of a draw for an auteur-driven festival like Cannes, but the fall fests rely heavily on Oscar campaigning and it might not be worth the money to just have the director promote an acting-heavy film, replacing potential campaigning on the part of Oscar-buzzed actors.

Internally, studio executives are considering delaying the release of some prestige films, believing they need acting talent to generate excitement.

The above is what could be the biggest issue for these fall festivals. If a film gets delayed, then promoting it at a festival might not be worth it.

One awards and publicity strategist tells Variety that studios are already considering pulling their films from TIFF if a deal isn’t reached in the coming weeks. Multiple sources, at various studios, also telling Variety the possibility of pulling premieres is not off the table.

Every film coming out this fall is now vulnerable. If the strike keeps dragging, and days turn into weeks, then films will start getting delayed and film festivals will again feel like they did in 2020 and 2021, during the thick of the pandemic: empty and devoid of excitement.