American Horror Story unveils teaser for season they reportedly crossed the picket line to make
Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop, when the writers strike, productions don’t stop
TV News American Horror Story
The WGA and, now, SAG-AFTRA strikes have halted much of Hollywood. Aside from reality TV, which isn’t unionized (yet), the only productions going forward have agreed to the union’s demands and aren’t members of the AMPTP. (If A24 can afford to do it, why can’t Disney?)
One production that never went dark is Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story. Despite the best efforts of the WGA picket line, Murphy’s crew continued working on American Horror Story: Delicate, with one strike captain accusing Kim Kardashian of crossing the picket line. While this wasn’t against the rules, as Vulture points out, Kardashian had a chance to use the leverage that being Kim Kardashian affords her.
The WGA continued to picket American Horror Story production in New York, though. Earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter reported that “only four scripted TV series remain in production on the East Coast — with three of them produced by Murphy: American Horror Story, American Sports Story and the episodic anthology American Horror Stories (the fourth is Lionsgate/Starz’s Power Book 2: Ghost).” However, Murphy contends that he was abiding by the rules of the strike, insisting that he was on set in a showrunner/producer capacity—not a writer. As always, there’s a lot of hand-wringing about that, as most writers argue that the writing never stops, even on set. But it’s not something that can easily be proven. For his part, Ryan Murphy contributed to a $1.7 million relief fund, along with J.J. Abrams, Shonda Rhimes, and Adam McKay.
Anyway, a trailer for the season produced during the strike has arrived. And, boy, was it worth it. Look how porcelain and doll-like Emma Roberts, Cara Delevinge, and Kardashian look in their Ichabod Crane glasses.
There’s no premiere date for Delicate yet. Still, it is based on the book Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine, so any American Horror Story fans who can’t wait for the new season should head to their local library.
41 Comments
That’s a real hat trick of talentless leads. Bravo!
For some reason, I had thought Anya Taylor-Joy was going to be in it and I was kind of psyched. But, nope – they opted for zero-talent across the board.
Never cross a picket line.
Important safety tip, thanks Egon.
So is your view that actors should have refused to work once the WGA went on strike but before the SGA’s own contract expired?
NEVER CROSS A PICKET LINE.
I’m not trying to be combative, I’m really asking. My sense is that actors generally continued working for several months after the WGA went on strike, since there own contract was still in place until recently. Would you consider all those actors to have crossed a picked line?
I’m not being figurative. If an actual picket line, the definition of which has a long history as protected speech, is established, a decent person and certainly a Union member, with the valid expectation of reciprocal treatment, should never cross it.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/picketing
I think the key question is whether it’s morally right to do work at one’s job when a different type of worker is striking. I don’t care as much whether someone crosses an actual line of picketers or not — that seems to depend a log more on where the picketers decide to picket and the layout of the worksite than any moral consideration. If it’s wrong not to strike in sympathy for other workers, then it’s wrong regardless of whether there are literal picketers there or not. If it’s OK, since you are still under contract, then it’s OK without regard to whether there are picketers in your vicinity or not.The Vulture article this one links to, for example, says protesters “set up a line, [Kim Kardashian] was driven past it into a waiting freight elevator.” I care a lot less about the location of the picketers, and the freight elevator, and whether the elevator could be accessed without literally crossing the line, than I am about whether you think Kardashian acting in the TV show while the WGA was striking is OK.I’m also not sure what the long history of picketing as protected speech gets you. Protesting on a sidewalk is absolutely protected by the First Amendment, and I don’t see anyone arguing otherwise. But your First Amendment rights don’t include any rights to get listeners to do anything. Someone crossing a picket line may be the wrong thing to do, but it’s certainly not something that implicates anyone’s First Amendment rights.
Privileged people, with options, and inheritance talk like that. They can’t conceive the idea of without or lack. They believe wholeheartedly in the System and that NO ONE should buck said system because “it works” – for them. Sadly, humans have to go through things to understand said thing. They’re weird like that.
Exactly
SAG-AFTRA members were told to show up for all work they were contracted for until June 30th.A direct quote from the union: “If you are contracted to work on a project that continues production while the WGA is on strike, you are legally obligated to continue working by your personal services agreement and the ‘no strike’ clause in our collective bargaining agreements.”
Good. Writers have become increasingly more interested in using their platform for activism instead of telling a decent story. Let people in there who actually love the job instead of zoomers who want to “reinterpret” beloved franchises for “Modern Audiences.”
These are two giant unions. Only a very small fraction of their members are zoomers (who are mostly still in middle school and high school).You sound like you’re about to spout off about pedo communists. You’re too obsessed with buzz, and you’re not putting any thought into it.
How about you go fuck yourself with a chainsaw, faggot.
how about you realize that producers are the ones who decide which projects get funded, scripts get okays and what changes happen to them?
You think zoomers control hollywood?
If anybody over 30 can be considered a boomer then everybody under 65 can be considered a zoomer. You triggered, baby? I think some of that blue hair dye has soaked into your brain. Cunt.
Dom, is that you?
That commenter doesn’t care. They’re only here to rile people up bc everyone IRL gave up on them. Dismiss them every chance you get.
I can’t wait to be disappointed by most of this again. It’s barely about horror anymore.
It’s about seeing how far they can push FX standards and practices.
I was under the impression this AHS season’s title was: “American Horror Story: Jumping the Shark” . Look, I’ve been a huge fan of this series from the beginning, but Hotel was the last one thats any good.
Soooo, they hire Kim Kardashian, who is only famous for her looks and has no other discernible talents, and then they make her completely unrecognizable. Usually you have to wait for the first scene of the first episode of a new season to see how incompetently made this show is but this time, it’s in the teaser. That’s quite an accomplishment.
was famous for her looks. Girl be washed up these days and held together mostly with plastic. She’s pretty for her age but only because of the top tier surgerons. I’m saying this as someone who thought she was just a smokeshow when we first had to learn about her stupid ass.
That’s probably not how she’ll look in the show. The teasers are always highly stylized.
To be fair, you usually have to wait about two and a half episodes to see that the plot is also garbage
I didn’t realize Kim was a member of the WGA.
You don’t have to be a member to offer support. Instead of using whatever influence they have to back the strikers, kardashian made the selfish choice because anything else would have been entirely out of character.
But almost every actor continued working during the WGA strike. Are people calling Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman scabs for continuing to film Deadpool 3? Are Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega scabs for filming Beetlejuice 2?
I believe the distinction is that there were no picket lines on those productions. This isn’t a metaphorical matter, people were actually picketing outside the studio where AHS was being filmed. As far as I know, that didn’t happen on either of the two sets you mention. I do know that there were far more productions than strikers could effective picket, at least before the actors joined up, but I don’t know who decided what locations to picket or why.Crossing a strike line is a matter of personal ethics. I wouldn’t cross a strike line at a hospital unless I was actively dying, and of course wouldn’t do it anywhere else either. But as the article notes, it’s not against the rules. I’m not sure if it necessarily changes my opinion Kim, instead of just reaffirming what I already thought of her, but I would absolutely run my mouth against any of the four people you listed if they did cross picket lines. I don’t know if I would call them scabs for crossing the WGA line, but it wouldn’t fall far short.
The picket line wasn’t even where AHS was filming, though. She crossed the picket line to go to a meeting at 30 Rock.
so this is the point where you showed the hill you want to die on
SAG-AFTRA members were told that they were legally obligated to show up to work on all productions: “If you are contracted to work on a project that continues production while the WGA is on strike, you are legally obligated to continue working by your personal services agreement and the ‘no strike’ clause in our collective bargaining agreements.”
I was under the impression that through some arcane legalese, this is not the case if there’s an actual picket line to cross. Like, there’s no way to just stop working in solidarity with the union, but if you try to go to work and Patton Oswalt is outside threatening to spit in your eye, it’s considered reasonable to say “I feared for my life” and go home.That’s based on current commentary on this strike, however, so I don’t know how accurate it is. I’ve seen it stated more than once though.
I’m sure that they could have claimed intimidation – but I think that can also get those striking in more trouble than not. “Kim Kardashian claims Patton Oswalt threatened to spit in her eye” is a great headline, but it’s not going to earn anyone points either in a PR war.But that said it’s easy to say how dare Kim K. who is rich do this but there were loads of working actors who were left with the choice of show up or be sued and if you’re sued, your union probably won’t have your back.
Umm. Generally speaking, if one supports a specific strike, one does not cross a picket line, even if one is not a member of the striking union. Indeed, many people won’t ever cross a picket line, full stop; this is generally true, for example, of us “workers’ rights” types on the left.
The idea is solidarity. As dudebra says, “Never cross a picket line.”
But SAG-AFTRA told actors that they were legally obligated to show up for work until June 30th:A direct quote from the union: “If you are contracted to work on a project that continues production while the WGA is on strike, you are legally obligated to continue working by your personal services agreement and the ‘no strike’ clause in our collective bargaining agreements.”
‘Kardashian had a chance to use the leverage that being Kim Kardashian affords her.’
a lot of shows stayed in production, im not sure why this one is getting criticism or what she needed to say.
Still, it is based on the book Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine, so any American Horror Story fans who can’t wait for the new season should head to their local library.It’s not out yet, man. They can head to their library on August 1st when it comes out, though.
American Horror Story: Scab
*Delevingne