During the Venice Film Festival press conference for his new film “Ferrari,” Adam Driver took the opportunity to challenge major streaming services like Netflix and Amazon for failing to meet the demands of the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
“I’m very happy to be here to support this movie, and the truncated schedule that we had to shoot it and the efforts of all the incredible actors working on it and the crew. But also, I’m very proud to be here to be a visual representation of a movie that’s not part of the AMPTP and to promote the SAG leadership directive which is an effective tactic which is the interim agreement,” said Driver.
The actor further questioned why smaller distribution companies could meet SAG-AFTRA’s demands while giants like Netflix and Amazon could not.
“The other objective is obviously to say, why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon and STX International can meet the dream demands of what SAG is asking for — this is pre-negotiations — the dream version of SAG’s wishlist, but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can’t?” Driver continued.
“And every time people from SAG go and support a movie that has met the terms of the interim agreement, it just makes it more obvious that these people are willing to support the people that they collaborate with, and the others are not.”
Driver is not new to the Netflix platform; he starred in the critically acclaimed 2019 film “Marriage Story,” for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
However, his recent comments indicate a clear divide between his stance and that of the streaming services, as they continue to play a dominant role in the industry.
“Ferrari,” directed by Michael Mann, showcases a year in the life of automotive tycoon Enzo Ferrari and stars other notable actors such as Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, and Patrick Dempsey.
Michael Mann, the director, also chimed in on the issue: “‘Ferrari’ got made because the people who worked on ‘Ferrari’ made it by forgoing large sectors of salaries, in the case of Adam and myself,” Mann stated.
“It was not made by a big studio — no big studio wrote us a check. And that’s why we’re here, standing in solidarity.”
