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Jim Caviezel says he is able to promote his latest film, Sound of Freedom, despite the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike that restricts performers from making promotional appearances because the production was not covered by the union's collective bargaining agreement.
In a conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Caviezel was asked how he could be making a TV appearance based on the SAG-AFTRA conditions of the strike.
As Angel Studios, the film's distributor, is an independent studio, Sound of Freedom was produced outside of the system covered by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The AMPTP is made up of some of Hollywood's biggest studios including, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., NBC Universal, Sony and Paramount.
So despite being a SAG member, Caviezel may have had permission to appear on Fox News to promote the film as part of the guild's conditions that would allow such productions to continue work during a strike.
"By the way, this is separate and apart from SAG and the strike that's going on," Hannity asked the actor. "I want to make a point that you're not in any way going against that, is that correct?"
Caviezel replied: "Yes. Those are my brothers and sisters of SAG. I support them, but we are not a part of [the collective bargaining agreement with] AMPTP. We wanted to be, but they didn't want any part of this film."
Newsweek contacted Angel Studios by email to confirm Caviezel's account.
On Hannity's show, Caviezel also highlighted a lack of support for Sound of Freedom from the industry since it began production in 2018.
The movie follows the story of Tim Ballard, played by Caviezel, who founded Operation Underground Railroad to combat child traffiking.
The film began development in 2015 and was shot in 2018, after 20th Century Fox bought the rights. But then The Walt Disney Company acquired the company and filmmakers bought the rights back, eventually granting Angel Studios the distribution deal to get the film out to theaters. The movie was released this year on July 4.
Film and TV actors have gone on strike in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America, who have been picketing for more than six weeks as they negotiate with the AMPTP over contractual terms, including pay and ruling out that they will not be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Some of the other grievances by writers and actors included the fact their salaries often do not correlate with the billions of streams that shows and films attract, compared with traditional linear TV and cinema profits.
After the SAG-AFTRA strike was announced, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Rami Malek, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh walked out of the London premiere of their new movie, Oppenheimer.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more