New 'Hunger Games' Movie Lands SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement
The cast of 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' will now be allowed to promote the movie with interviews, social media posts and red carpet events.
The actors' strike is not over, but the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is now allowed to promote the movie anyway. The SAG-AFTRA rules generally preclude union members from promoting any work by the studios they are striking against – including interviews, TV appearances and red carpet events. However, the union granted a special "interim agreement" to Lionsgate so that the cast could participate in this movie's press events.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on Nov. 17, so the cast has just over two weeks to help promote it before the mad dash to the box office. The movie is a prequel to the Hunger Games series and it stars Tom Blyth as a younger version of Coriolanus Snow, though the real hero is Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler. Other stars include Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis. Zegler spoke out on social media as soon as the interim agreement went public.
"I am so beyond thankful to [Lionsgate] and [SAG-AFTRA] for working so hard throughout this strike to come to an agreement, allowing us to participate in press and promotion for our film, which comes to theaters on November 17," she wrote on Instagram. "Lionsgate's efforts are proof that studios, big and small, can meet us in a place of fairness for their films and the people who work so hard to make them. Making this movie was hands-down one of the best experiences of my life thus far. I cannot wait to share more behind-the-scenes content with you all, the fans, who make experiences like this eight million times better. There will be lots of all of my beautiful friends from the cast, as well as appreciation for our crew, which is filled with people I love so deeply."
"Cannot believe I get to say this, with only a few weeks to spare, but... See you out there on our press tour!" Zegler concluded.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was eligible for an interim agreement only because Lionsgate is not a member of the AMPTP – the organization that SAG-AFTRA is negotiating with throughout this strike. Other movies from smaller studios have gotten interim agreements this summer as well, including What Happens Later, Priscilla, Ferrari and even Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told THR that these kinds of agreements benefit the union's cause as well. He said that it helps members demonstrate how much value they add to their project even after production is finished. He said: "When we sign an interim agreement with a producer, that is a full-on collective bargaining agreement. So once a producer makes that deal, we want their project to be successful, we want them to be able to promote it. We want actors to go out and do all the things they would normally do in connection with a project like that."
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on Friday, Nov. 17. The novel by Suzanne Collins is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats. The original Hunger Games film series is not on a subscription-based streaming service at this time, but is available to rent or buy on digital stores.