“The Chosen” is the hit Christian show that, like “Sound of Freedom,” took theaters by storm when the theatrical extension of it was released in theaters in February. It was crowdfunded, enabling it to dodge the thorny issue of getting funded by hostile Hollywood film groups, and audiences loved it. Now it’s dodging another issue in Hollywood: the writer and actor strikes.
As background, the Hollywood writers went on strike over pay, workload, and their potential displacement by “artificial intelligence” large learning models like Chat GPT and GPT 4. As their strike grinds on, the actors union, the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG-AFTRA) decided to declare a strike as well.
The union leaders allege that studio executives are “unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members.” Those “key issues” are largely actors being replaced by AI and compensation issues. The strike is a big issue, as SAG-AFTRA represents bout 160,000 actors, including the big stars.
As most of Hollywood deals with those two strikes and the problems stemming from them, “The Chosen” has managed to dodge the issue and resume filming. The Chosen tweeted about that, noting that though it initially seemed like filming would grind to a halt, it has agreed with SAG on the issues and so has received a waiver.
The account for “The Chosen” first tweeted that the strike could impact it but that whatever happens is part of God’s plan, writing, “Important update from Dallas on the Screen Actor’s Guild strike, which starts tonight: Unfortunately, despite the requested work we did on our end, an exemption for us will not be granted in time to avoid a shutdown. We will do a little filming tomorrow of everything that doesn’t require our cast, and then we’ll wait and hope that either the strike ends (unlikely soon), or that we’re granted an exemption and can resume filming. Yes, it’s upsetting and will cost time and money…but we bring our 5 loaves & 2 fish. God handles the rest.”
doesn’t require our cast, and then we’ll wait and hope that either the strike ends (unlikely soon), or that we’re granted an exemption and can resume filming.
Yes, it’s upsetting and will cost time and money…but we bring our 5 loaves & 2 fish. God handles the rest.
Dallas (2/2)— The Chosen (@thechosentv) July 14, 2023
Shortly afterward, “The Chosen” Twitter account tweeted that it had agreed to SAG’s requests and so had gotten a waiver from the bellicose union and could continue to film, even as the strike remains ongoing for other studios.
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It said: “Update: Great news! We just received word from SAG that we have been approved for a waiver. We’ll continue shooting on Monday. To be clear: 1. We’ve agreed to all of SAG’s requests and their interim agreement. 2. Season 4 is entirely independent and 100% funded by donations.”
To be clear: 1. We’ve agreed to all of SAG’s requests and their interim agreement. 2. Season 4 is entirely independent and 100% funded by donations.
— The Chosen (@thechosentv) July 17, 2023
That came after Dallas Jenkins, the creator of “The Chosen,” pressured SAG for a waiver, writing, “Dear @sagaftra, We’ve submitted all the requested paperwork immediately. We fit all qualifications for an exemption. You have our application for it. Every day that goes by without your response costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars while your actors are stuck in Utah. We’re the good guys; we’ve treated your actors well. Please take the few minutes to approve our application so your actors can get back to work getting paid for the last two weeks of a season they want to finish.”
Featured image credit: By The Chosen press photos (press.thechosen.tv) – https://www.press.thechosen.tv/?pgid=judjmpl7-1dfbaacb-b8fe-49f8-a65c-a433cf4028af, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93752473