Hollywood is going through a crucial moment that could shape its future in the coming years. The strike of writers and actors has paralyzed almost all ongoing productions, and it doesn’t seem like the situation will change soon. However, there is one filming that hasn’t stopped at any moment: that of House of the Dragon.
While it was expected that the HBO series would be affected by what happened, just like the other major flagship shows of the platform, it is not turning out that way. The reason was recently specified by George R.R. Martin through his blog, and it’s as simple as the production taking place between Spain and the United Kingdom (where the strikes don’t affect) and the main actors appearing are British, not American.
George R.R. Martin has indeed left HBO
“The actors of House of the Dragon are members of Equity, the British actors’ union, and not of SAG-AFTRA, and although Equity is strongly committed to its American colleagues […] UK law prohibits them from organizing a sympathetic strike. If they were to do so, they would have no protection against dismissals,” Martin clarified on his blog.
In other words, no matter how much the actors might want to support the strike, they can’t do it. If they did, they could be fired without compensation, since the union they belong to has no connection with SAG-AFTRA, the main organizer of the strike.
However, Martin is not pleased with HBO’s attitude towards the strikes; so much so that he has terminated his contract with the platform and has not worked for it in any capacity since June 1st. Of course, this setback could potentially impact, and significantly, the future of series related to Game of Thrones.
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