Universal Pictures has canceled the upcoming red carpet at the U.S premiere of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ amid the SAG-AFTRA strike, according to Variety. The movie will still be screened, however. The premiere is set to take place on Monday, July 17 at 7pm ET in New York City at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square theater. SAG-AFTRA called a union strike on July 13, with the first day of picketing beginning July 14. ‘In support of the ongoing SAG strike, the filmmakers of ‘Oppenheimer’ will not be proceeding with the NY premiere as originally planned, and will instead screen the movie to celebrate the crew and craftspeople who contributed to making this landmark film,’ a statement from Universal Pictures read. The decision to cancel the U.S. premiere’s red carpet comes on the heels of the ‘Oppenheimer’ cast leaving the film’s U.K. premiere early in solidarity with the strike, which at that point had not yet been officially called. The U.K. premiere took place July 13 just hours before SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher officially called for the strike to begin the following day. ‘Oppenheimer’ cast members such as Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt walked the U.K. red carpet but did not attend the screening of the film. Nolan informed the audience that his actors left the premiere to start making picket signs for the strike. The premiere’s red carpet even got bumped up an hour early so that cast members could walk it and promote the film without interfering with a potential strike.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency