MANILA, Philippines — The ongoing actors and writers strikes in Hollywood has prevented Dolly de Leon from discussing and promoting the international projects she has lined up for the rest of the year, leaving her to focus on activities in the local scene until talks with studios progress.
De Leon won Best Supporting Actress at the 2023 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival for her role in "Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing)," the festival's first full-length animated feature which went on to win Best Film in a historic feat.
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Speaking to Philstar.com after receiving her Balanghai trophy — the first time she accepted a Philippine acting award onstage — De Leon elaborated the situation of her projects overseas, which include the second season of "Nine Perfect Strangers" with Nicole Kidman.
De Leon is a member of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) which is currently on strike asking for better wages for actors and putting in place restrictions in using artificial intelligence in projects, putting a huge majority of Hollywood in a standstill.
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The actress explained that she is allowed to promote films here in the Philippines because such movies aren't under studios registered with SAG-AFTRA, but not talk about the projects she has done and will do that are SAG-registered.
"Kaya when I'm doing interviews, sinasabi ko lagi na hindi puwede pag-usapan ang mga foreign films," continued Dolly de Leon, who also has lined up Paul Feig's "Grand Death Lotto" with John Cena, Awkwafina, Simu Liu, Seann William Scott, Leslie David Baker, and Sam Asghari, and "Between the Temples" with Jason Schwartzman.
De Leon repeated what she had told Philstar.com before that she was supposed to fly out after Cinemalaya to begin shooting for "Nine Perfect Strangers," but now the trip has been postponed indefinitely.
The actress did point out that SAG-AFTRA recently allowed its members to continue projects with A24 as the independent film studio agreed to the union's terms.
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"May mga exceptions, and they are actually encouraging people to continue working, just not for the members of AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) kasi 'yun ang kalaban," De Leon added,
AMPTP members include major studios like Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Sony, and Paramount, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and AppleTV+, and various television networks.
Last July De Leon told Philstar.com that she stands in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America whose strike has now surpassed 100 days, and likely maintains the same stance with her fellow SAG-AFTRA members.
With the Cinemalaya season over, De Leon is now preparing for the release of her upcoming Filipino film "A Very Good Girl" opposite Kathryn Bernardo, which recently wrapped up shooting and teased a promotional poster.
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