Disney's Haunted Mansion premiere had Maleficent, Cruella & others walk the red carpet amid SAG- AFTRA strike
Still from Haunted Mansion
Disney held its scheduled world premiere for Haunted Mansion amid the SAG-AFTRA strike as actors joined the resistance in order to make Hollywood studios listen to the demands of film/show writers. Started since May 2, the WGA strike has become bigger as both parties failed to reach a middle ground and resume work. As actors gave the film’s premiere a miss, Disney held its premiere with cartoon characters – performers dressed as Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil., Maleficent, and others.
Haunted Mansion features actors like LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Daniel Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner, and Lindsay Lamb. All the actors gave the red carpet a miss, as was expected. The studio still rolled out its red carpet at Disneyland in Anaheim.
The film’s director, Justin Simien, spoke to the press and said he was “sad” that his cast couldn’t attend the premiere but he understands why they didn’t make it. It was initially told to the press that the director will not interact.
Inside the Haunted Mansion world premiere
The Haunted Mansion premiere included a two-hour carpet, a pre-reception, and a screening at the Hyperion Theatre. It marked the first major studio premiere to take place since the actors began striking on Friday. The premiere came just a day after actors union chief Fran Drescher slammed Disney boss Bob Iger for saying that WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikers were not being “realistic” with their demands.
Fran said, “I found them terribly repugnant and out of touch. Positively tone deaf. I don’t think it served him well. If I were that company, I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anybody about this, because it’s so obvious that he has no clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hard-working people that don’t make anywhere near the salary he is making. High seven figures, eight figures, this is crazy money that they make, and they don’t care if they’re land barons of a medieval time.”
Haunted Mansion is inspired by the theme park ride of the same name. The film will be released in theaters on July 28.
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