No Barbie costumes this year: SAG-AFTRA asks members to keep it generic this Halloween
Don't expect to see any pics on social media this year, either
Arguably no-one expected the actor’s strike to go on quite as long as it has, and it's potentially thrown a spanner in the works for some high-profile Halloween parties. SAG-AFTRA, which has been collectively negotiating with studios and streaming sites for better wages and protections against the use of AI to replicate actor’s likenesses in films or weird commercials, has told members not to celebrate the holiday by dressing up as characters from struck content.
“Let’s use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract!” the guild posted in their Halloween guidance for members. The idea seems to be that any publicity for these characters, even in an unofficial capacity, would benefit the studios and the guild leadership is dead-set against that.
So no, Taylor Swift won’t be dusting off her Deadpool costume this Halloween. Its a shame, because we bet there are countless Barbie costumes that will just gather dust in a closet now.
The notice offers advice on how members can enjoy the holiday. It suggests dressing up as a generic monster, such as a ghost or zombie, or basing their costumes on characters from non-struck content. This includes animated shows or video games. We assume most actors won’t get too pedantic and claim they are dressing up as the comic book version of Wolverine, but it seems like a pretty big loophole to us. This could send some big names scrambling for new costume ideas, something we've got a little experience with.
As the actor’s strike which has shut Hollywood down for months has been going on for almost 100 days and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. However, we’ve still got every movie due out in the next several months in one handy place to make sure you don’t miss a single release.
