Universal’s cinematic reimagining of the Broadway classic, Wicked, has been a production 10 years in the making. The musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel finally became “pop-uuu-ler” once the studio hired Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights director, Jon M. Chu, to helm the film. Then, his casting of Cynthia Erivo as the misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Ariana Grande as fan-favorite, Glinda the Good Witch, thrilled fans with its potential. However, this embattled production was not able to “defy the gravity” of the Actors strike as the cast deserted the set in support of the recent protest.

Striking photos have been leaked of the abandoned set in Buckinghamshire, UK after union representatives from SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of TV and Radio Artists) instructed all members to stop working during the dispute. Pop star, Grande, addressed her support for the strike on her social media yesterday by posting about the cause.

Here is a list of reasons why the Actors Strike went into effect this week:
- No transparency on the calculation of residual payment collection from streaming services. Many actors have been paid a baseline-fee formula from streaming companies, but many professionals feel this does not reflect the right viewership metrics and seek more transparency from the studios.
- The expense of self-taping. Post-pandemic, there has been a shift to actors taping their own auditions from home. Actors have expressed this new format is time-consuming and costly and requires they learn large amounts of dialogue in a short time span.
- No change in minimum pay. Actors desire a higher minimum wage to compensate for inflation shifts and longer gaps between productions.
- No regulation on A.I. There is no system in place to compensate actors who have their likenesses and voices copied by artificial intelligence programs.

Currently, all SAG members will be unable to participate in any scripted film projects under these strike conditions. While SAG is a US-based union, it has affected film productions globally. Other blockbuster movie sets that have been halted overseas due to the Actors strike have been Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Mortal Kombat 2 and Beetlejuice 2. It is unfortunate that the making of art must suffer, but this ‘game of chicken’ will hopefully send a message to studio executives that artists deserve to be fairly compensated for their work as the global economy shifts to meet strict, unrealistic demands in cinema.