Among 'Haunted Mansion' cast members who were absent from the Saturday, July 15 event were Jamie Lee Curtis, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson as well as Danny DeVito.
- Jul 17, 2023
AceShowbiz - "Haunted Mansion" actors skipped the film's premiere at Disneyland in California due to strike action. Because of that reason, theme park workers came to the rescue, replacing the actors by dressing as iconic Disney characters.
Among cast members who were absent from the Saturday, July 15 event were Jamie Lee Curtis, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson and Danny DeVito. They skipped the bash after the announcement of strikes by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) acting unions.
Director Justin Simien, however, did attend the premiere. However, he told The Hollywood Reporter he supports the cast's decision to stay away. "If they can't be here to speak for it (the film), I felt like I had to be here to speak for it," he said. "It's sad that they're not here, at the same time, I totally support the reason why they’re not here. And I'm happy to be the one to ring the bell in their stead."
The strike guidelines prohibit actors from taking part in promotional appearances as well as on-camera work. It means they are unable to attend events like premieres, awards shows or film festivals as well as being unable to take part in interviews or podcasts.
The industrial action was announced on Thursday after negotiations between the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down on Wednesday night. The news prompted the cast of Christopher Nolan's new drama "Oppenheimer" to walk out of the film's London premiere.
The director said of the actors, "Unfortunately, they're off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the unions, and we support them."
The New York premiere of "Oppenheimer" was set for Monday, July 17 but that has since been canceled due to the strike action.
