SAG-AFTRA Strikes Affect Dazed and Confused Anniversary

It'd be cooler if you didn't strike break: AFS has announced it is delaying its planned 30th anniversary screening of Dazed & Confused due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

As the film and TV industries enter a second week of the combined SAG-AFTRA/WGA strike, the impact is being felt in multiple ways. Now the recently announced, weekend-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Dazed and Confused is the latest to be affected.

Earlier this month, Austin Film Society announced two nights of fun for Richard Linklater's period piece about high school life in 1970s Texas. First, a Dazed and Confused night with cast Q&A at Dell Diamond as the Round Rock Express face the Las Vegas Aviators on Sept. 16: then a special screening at the Moody Amphitheater with cast and crew Q&A on Sept. 17.

However, today AFS released a dramatic change of plans. Due to the strike, the baseball game will happen, complete with bobbleheads, plus Linklater in attendance and throwing out the first ball. However, the cast will not be in attendance.

The bigger blow for fans of the film is that the screening has now been indefinitely postponed. It will be rescheduled after the strike order has been lifted, to allow the cast to attend. Tickets that have been purchased already will be honored for the rescheduled date, but AFS is also offering refunds.

The reason is found in SAG-AFTRA's strike notice, which lists what members may or may not do during the strike. This includes "promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts." Obviously, that affects new releases (for example, the London premiere of Oppenheimer was moved up so that stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Florence Pugh could attend the red carpet before the strike started). However, that means all projects covered by the contracts, including retrospective screenings like the Dazed and Confused weekend, are a no-go for union members.

The strikes are due to the failed contract negotiations between the two unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The writers' guild began its strike on May 2 and was joined by the screen actors guild on July 14. The unions have accused the AMPTP of structuring payments so that many people in the film and TV industry are currently making far below living wages, while the studios are making record profits and handing unprecedented salaries to executives.