The latest film from Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity label has been suspended due to picketing, and it’s unclear when Unstoppable will resume.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity label got off to a great start with the release of Air, the story of how Nike managed to sign basketball’s greatest ever player during the 1980s. However, the production company has run into trouble with its next project, the Jennifer Lopez-starring wrestling drama, Unstoppable. According to reports, picketing at the production’s Los Angeles shoot location has forced the project to shut down.
As it stands, Teamsters (the drivers who run the supply lines in the LA film industry) are refusing to cross picket lines meaning that any production that is being picketed by writers could struggle to get the vital equipment needed for a production. According to Deadline, that certainly seems to be the case with Unstoppable which was just two weeks into production. The same fate recently befell the Aziz Ansari-directed Lionsgate feature, Good Fortune which stars Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.
Amazon is reportedly backing Unstoppable and taking the film to its Prime Video streaming platform, so at least Affleck and company know that there’s a studio waiting at the end of production to foot the bill, which is not always the case as some productions will be more heavily-reliant on a successful theatrical run than others. Still, a fee will have been already agreed with Amazon and picket lines will cost the production money every time shooting can’t happen. As such, the decision has been made to suspend production, but for how long we don’t know.
Unstoppable is based on the story of Anthony Robles (Jerome), an All-American wrestler born with one leg who prevailed in a national championship at Arizona State. Argo editor Billy Goldenberg is making his feature directorial debut on the film which Artists Equity is financing. We’ll bring you more news on the production when we hear it.
Image: BigStock
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