SAG Award nominee Adam Sandler and Emmy-winning writer Ben Stiller proudly sported their ‘SAG-AFTRA Strong’ T-shirts and held signs while on the picket line outside NBCUniversal in Manhattan on Tuesday to support the actors’ union strike.
The NYC-born comedians – age 56 and 57 – memorably co-starred together in Happy Gilmore (1996), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), and Hubie Halloween (2020).
Ben – who produces Apple TV+ shows High Desert and Severance – wore a camouflage ‘Hanalei Initiative’ cap and a blue backpack as he picketed at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
And Adam appeared to be in great spirits while wearing green-mirrored shades and an orange-and-grey baseball cap emblazoned with the phrase ‘Not famous but known.’
During the strike, Stiller took a selfie with East New York actor Ezra Knight and chatted with Rebecca Damon, the SAG-AFTRA exec VP of national innovation and new technology.
Reunited! SAG Award nominee Adam Sandler (L) and Emmy-winning writer Ben Stiller (R) proudly sported their ‘SAG-AFTRA Strong’ T-shirts and held signs while on the picket line outside NBCUniversal in Manhattan on Tuesday to support the actors’ union strike
Hilarious duo: The NYC-born comedians – age 57 and 56 – memorably co-starred together in Happy Gilmore (1996), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), and Hubie Halloween (2020).
And Sandler had a discussion with Mary Kay Henry, the international president of the Service Employees International Union.
That same day, SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance announced the nonprofit has raised over $15M in the past three weeks for its Emergency Financial Assistance Program for out-of-work members.
It’s due to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey.
For the first time in four decades, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are both on strike demanding contracts that includes updated streaming residuals and AI regulations.
Back in 2020, The Murder Mystery producer-star’s Happy Madison Productions reportedly signed a $275M four-movie deal with Netflix and the streaming giant’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted on July 19 that the ‘strike us not an outcome that we wanted.’
‘We make deals all the time. We are constantly at the table negotiating with writers with directors with actors and producers with everyone across the industry. And we very much hoped to reach an agreement by now,’ the 59-year-old producer-turned-exec said during Netflix’s pre-recorded Q2 earnings interview.
‘I also want to say, if I may, on a personal level, I was raised in a union household. My dad was a member of IBEW Local 640. He was a union electrician. And I remember his local because that union was very much a part of our lives when I was growing up. And I also remember on more than one occasion my dad being out on strike. And I remember that because it takes an enormous toll on your family, financially and emotionally.’
Ted concluded: ‘You should know that nobody here, nobody within the AMPTP, and I’m sure nobody at SAG or nobody at the WGA took any of this lightly. But we’ve got a lot of work to do there. There are a handful of complicated issues. We’re super-committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible, one that is equitable, and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future.’
Silver fox: Ben – who produces Apple TV+ shows High Desert and Severance – wore a camouflage ‘Hanalei Initiative’ cap and a blue backpack as he picketed at 30 Rockefeller Plaza
Eccentric: Adam appeared to be in great spirits while wearing green-mirrored shades and an orange-and-grey baseball cap emblazoned with the phrase ‘Not famous but known’
Solidarity: During the strike, Stiller took a selfie with East New York actor Ezra Knight (L) and chatted with Rebecca Damon (R), the SAG-AFTRA exec VP of national innovation and new technology
Talking shop: Sandler had a discussion with Mary Kay Henry (L), the international president of the Service Employees International Union
Support: That same day, SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance announced the nonprofit has raised over $15M in the past three weeks for its Emergency Financial Assistance Program for out-of-work members
Rather than join picket line: It’s due to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey
Historic: For the first time in four decades, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are both on strike demanding contracts that includes updated streaming residuals and AI regulations
Netflix amassed $1.488B as well as 6M new subscribers (for a global total of 238.39M) in the last quarter – according to IndieWire.
Adam will next play Danny Friedman alongside his real-life wife Jackie and two daughters Sadie and Sunny in Sammi Cohen’s You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, which premieres August 25 on Netflix.
Idina Menzel, Sarah Sherman, Luis Guzmán, and Jackie Hoffman also star in the PG-13, 101-minute comedy based on Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 novel.
Sandler voices the titular 74-year-old lizard in Netflix’s animated musical comedy Leo – premiering November 21 – alongside his 48-year-old wife of 20 years and their teenage girls.
Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim’s Florida classroom-set movie will also feature Heidi Gardner, Cecily Strong, Rob Schneider, Stephanie Hsu, Jason Alexander, Bill Burr, Jo Koy, and Nick Swardson.
The Out-Laws producer will also play Czech orphan-turned-astronaut Jakub Procházka in Johan Renck’s sci-fi drama Spaceman, which wrapped production back in 2021 but won’t be released until 2024 on Netflix.
The long-delayed film – based on Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia – also features Paul Dano, Carey Mulligan, Isabella Rossellini, and Kunal Nayyar.
Back in 2020, The Murder Mystery producer-star’s Happy Madison Productions reportedly signed a $275M four-movie deal with Netflix and the streaming giant’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos (R, pictured March 20) admitted on July 19 that the ‘strike us not an outcome that we wanted’
The 59-year-old producer-turned-exec (M, pictured in 2018) said during Netflix’s pre-recorded Q2 earnings interview: ‘We’re super-committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible, one that is equitable, and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future’
Premieres August 25 on Netflix! Adam will next play Danny Friedman alongside his real-life wife Jackie and two daughters Sadie and Sunny in Sammi Cohen’s You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
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