Yikes, Disney Still Went Ahead With Its "Haunted Mansion" Red Carpet — With No Actors

"It’s so surreal, it’s so sad and disappointing, but I’m not disappointed in this cast. I’m disappointed in the conditions that have brought about this situation."

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Disney went ahead without its actors for the Haunted Mansion premiere, and hoooo boy.

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Haunted Mansion is a live-action movie, based on the ride, set to come out on July 28. The cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto.

Disney / Via youtube.com

On Thursday, SAG-AFTRA called its strike and subsequently banned promotional activity for its actors — including red carpets. Oppenheimer went ahead and canceled its New York red carpet, with Universal issuing a statement that read: “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."

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Premieres for The Beanie Bubble and Minx have also been canceled.

However, Disney went ahead with its premiere — using theme park villains instead of the actors:

The fictional character Cruella de Vil has arrived at the #HauntedMansion premiere in Disneyland. https://t.co/ozgw9lMm8J pic.twitter.com/kKnSzCsH1j

— Variety (@Variety) July 16, 2023

Twitter: @Variety

Disney cast members are paid $18 an hour and are not covered by SAG, as they're live performers rather than on-screen.

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Plenty of influencers were present. Interestingly, SAG-AFTRA has issued some statements on influencers — including, "Influencers should refrain from posting on social media about any struck work regardless of whether they are posting organically or in a paid capacity" and "Influencers should not accept any new work for promotion of struck companies or their content."

Frazer Harrison / WireImage

The consequence being that non-members seeking future membership in SAG-AFTRA will be denied. If influencers are under contract, then they should "fulfill their work obligation."

As such, Jasmine Paige Moore wrote on Instagram, "This marks the few last premieres I am subject to attend. I am in full support of my fellow actors and writers during this time and was asked to attend the Haunted Mansion Premiere before the SAG strike was Struck, and as advised by SAG, I plan to fulfill all contractual obligations and not take any additional work from struck companies."

Frazer Harrison / WireImage

Brandi Marie King further said, "Prior to the #sagstrike we were contacted to attend the premiere and create content."

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter about the lack of the movie's actors at the premiere, director Justin Simien told the Hollywood Reporter, “I feel very ambivalent about it, but at the same time, I’m just so proud of this cast, and I’m so, so proud of Katie Dippold who wrote the script, and so much of why I did this was to honor her words and to honor their work."

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney

“If they can’t be here to speak for it, I felt like I had to be here to speak for it. It’s sad that they’re not here, at the same time, I totally support the reason why they’re not here. And I’m happy to be the one to ring the bell in their stead," he continued, noting that the AI concerns that SAG-AFTRA are partially striking over are “a very important thing to hammer home and to figure out.”

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse have arrived at the #HauntedMansion premiere in Disneyland -- the first major carpet to take place since SAG-AFTRA voted to issue a strike Thursday. https://t.co/ozgw9lMm8J pic.twitter.com/tMkYTHFIZe

— Variety (@Variety) July 16, 2023

Twitter: @Variety

He further told Variety, "It’s so surreal, it’s so sad and disappointing, but I’m not disappointed in this cast. I’m disappointed in the conditions that have brought about this situation" and said that he would "love to talk" to Bob Iger about his recent comments.

#HauntedMansion director Justin Simien talks #SAGAFTRAstrike and Bob Iger at movie’s premiere at Disneyland.#justforvariety @Variety pic.twitter.com/s5j0oxBsPe

— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) July 16, 2023

Twitter: @marcmalkin

Indeed, the decision to go ahead with the premiere is especially notable given Disney CEO Bob Iger's previous comments on the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. “It’s very disturbing to me," Bob, who has the potential to earn $27 million this year, said. "There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive."

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Comparatively, one of the Emmy-nominated writers of She-Hulk earned $396 in residuals for his work on the show.

You can read more about the SAG-AFTRA strike here.

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