\n<\/p>\n
\u2014 Meryl Streep, who was chosen to be honored at the gala next month for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, was initially under the impression that the Hollywood actors\u2019 strike would prevent her from attending.<\/p>\n
The strike, after all, had already forced the Academy to delay one gala in November, where Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks were to receive honorary Oscars. In the case of the fund-raising event planned for Oct. 14, it was unclear at first if SAG-AFTRA, the union representing TV and movie actors, would allow striking members to attend, and, if it did, whether any would want to go.<\/p>\n
Would it be OK to appear at such a celebratory event while the industry is on the ropes? Should actors sit at tables (costing $250,000 to $500,000) that in some cases are paid for by the studios they are striking against? And what about the potential for vitriol and tension, or at least deep social awkwardness?<\/p>\n
But after negotiations and quiet diplomacy that determined who could attend and what kinds of work could be honored, the gala \u2014 which typically attracts Hollywood\u2019s A-listers and moguls and raises more than $10 million for the popular museum \u2014 will proceed. The biggest change: Executives from the studios being struck, some of which are among the museum\u2019s biggest sponsors<\/a>, will not be there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Streep will be, though, since she has approval from her union. \u201cI have been assured that SAG-AFTRA has encouraged members to attend the gala \u2014 that the museum deeply depends on this event for its educational and community outreach, and that no industry executives from struck companies will be in attendance,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cSo I am steaming my dress and heading West.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Streep\u2019s initial confusion is emblematic of the fraught territory that the industry finds itself in as it tries to navigate the dos and don\u2019ts of the strike \u2014 from awards shows and fund-raisers to social events, films and television shows.<\/p>\n It can be confusing: Some talk show hosts have stumbled<\/a> in trying to do decide whether to return to the air, and the writers\u2019 union picketed \u201cDancing With the Stars<\/a>\u201d although its cast had received a green light from SAG-AFTRA to work. The tentative deal reached Sunday by the Writers Guild of America<\/a> and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers was a hopeful sign, but the actors remain on strike, and securing their union\u2019s blessing was crucial for the Academy gala.<\/p>\n \u201cThe basic guidance we\u2019ve given people is, so long as it is not focused on a particular project or a particular struck company, it\u2019s OK for our members to participate in those events and to acknowledge someone\u2019s body of work,\u201d Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director and chief negotiator of the actors\u2019 union, said in an interview. \u201cThere will be members who choose not to participate in these things who don\u2019t feel it\u2019s the right thing to do at this point, since it is a serious time for people who work in the industry. I imagine our members will make judgments for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The gala is vital for the nascent museum, in an effort to raise millions of dollars and the institution\u2019s profile. The event\u2019s knack for drawing bold-faced names has led some to think of it as a West Coast Met Gala. The question this year is whether the lack of studio executives, and qualms on the part of striking actors, could make this year\u2019s party less buoyant or its red carpet less buzzy.<\/p>\n But assuming the honorees show up as planned, there will be guaranteed star power present: In addition to Streep, the Academy will honor Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan, and Sofia Coppola. The chairs of the gala, which is raising money for exhibitions, education and public programs, are the director Ava DuVernay, the actor Halle Berry, the producer Ryan Murphy and the producer Dr. Eric Esrailian, a physician and a trustee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis event is about raising vital funds to ensure that this work will go on in service to the public,\u201d said Jacqueline Stewart, who last year became<\/a> the museum\u2019s director and president. \u201cThe work of the museum is a common ground despite the strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, union representatives have been in discussions with the museum to set certain ground rules: Individual actors can be honored, but not individual projects, and bodies of work can be highlighted, but not specific films, studios or streaming services. If the gala ventures out of bounds, Crabtree-Ireland said, members will be expected to get up and leave to avoid incurring disciplinary measures.<\/p>\n Stewart said that no guests had declined invitations citing the strike as a reason. While some studios have contributed funds to the gala, she said, \u201cgiven the particular circumstances this year, there will be no executives from struck companies in attendance.\u201d The majority of table and ticket buyers are not from the studios, the museum said, but are a mix of corporate supporters, philanthropists, and museum trustees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some union members hope that the museum gala can be an opportunity to highlight the labor dispute, which was prompted by concerns about pay, artificial intelligence and working conditions and which has halted virtually all production.<\/p>\n \u201cI get that the optics are bad when some of our members are walking the picket line and others are putting on black tie and jewels and walking the red carpet,\u201d said Greg Cope White, who had to pause production on a Netflix adaptation of his memoir \u2014 for which he is also a screenwriter \u2014 \u201cThe Pink Marine<\/a>,\u201d about a gay 18-year-old who joins the U.S. Marine Corps.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gala is an opportunity to get some attention to our cause,\u201d White added. \u201cMeryl Streep and Oprah are great speakers. Hopefully they\u2019ll give passionate sound bites that will bring some light to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Each honoree will receive a different award \u2014 Streep, for her \u201cglobal cultural impact\u201d; Jordan for \u201chelping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema\u201d; Winfrey for her \u201cexemplary leadership and support\u201d of the museum; and Coppola for innovations that \u201chave advanced the art of cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n After numerous delays<\/a>, the Academy Museum finally opened<\/a> in 2021, a seven-story, $484 million concrete-and-glass spherical building designed by the architect Renzo Piano that was widely welcomed as an example of the city\u2019s cultural fertility. An exhibition dedicated to John Waters<\/a>, the cult filmmaker who directed \u201cPink Flamingos,\u201d \u201cPolyester\u201d and \u201cHairspray,\u201d opened there on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n Although the gala is approaching fast, some actors and writers remain hopeful that the strike will be resolved by the time the limousines start to roll down Wilshire Boulevard. \u201cIf I could open the envelope at the Oscars,\u201d White said, \u201cIt would say, \u2018Strike is over.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n