Directors were among the few in the industry who were able to attend San Diego Comic-Con to promote their work this year, but that doesn’t mean they actually wanted to be there. In fact, directors Gareth Edwards and Justin Simien noted during their panel that they were there because they had to be.
Both men were part of Collider’s annual “Directors on Directing” panel in Hall H on Friday, moderated by Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub, alongside panelist Louis Leterrier (the latter was a replacement for “Bullet Train” director David Leitch, who bowed out in solidarity as he’s a member of SAG-AFTRA). Naturally, as the discussion progressed, the fact that both the WGA and SAG are on strike came up, as their absence has been distinctly felt.
When it did, Edwards — who was promoting the 20th Century Studios sci-fi film “The Creator” — made it explicitly clear that not only do he and his colleagues support those on strike, but added (perhaps jokingly, though we’re not so sure) that they themselves were only there because they had to be.
“I think we all agree with this, that the first thing we want to make clear is we all stand with the writers and actors,” he said, earning huge applause. He added, “We’re contractually obliged to promote our movies.”
Simien, who directed Disney’s “Haunted Mansion,” which comes out on July 28, readily agreed.
“Yes, we were told to be here,” he said with a laugh. “Also, we’re all like — I don’t know, you [Louis] seem a little more extroverted, but I would much prefer to be at home. No shade! No shade to you guys, I would much rather be at home, looking at Rosario Dawson via YouTube.”
An individual with knowledge of the situation said that neither Simien nor Edwards was actually instructed to attend Comic-Con.
Meanwhile, Louis Leterrier joked that he was “just replacing a guy that couldn’t be here, to get a free ticket to the con.” While Leitch is a filmmaker, he’s also a member of SAG-AFTRA owing to his stunt performer roots.
As part of the rules laid out by SAG when their strike began on July 14, actors would not be permitted to promote any struck work at Comic-Con this year. But the DGA reached a new deal in early June, preventing a strike on their end.
Simien previously spoke to TheWrap about his decision to promote “Haunted Mansion” at all.
“First of all, I had to check in with everybody before doing anything, I was not necessarily inclined to do a bunch of press,” Simien told TheWrap on the Monday after the weekend premiere of his film at Disneyland. “But I feel like I can be really effective in the overall labor goal. If we can get people to see this movie, and understand how much passion went into it.”
“You know, one of the things that the SAG captains have said is, this is a strike from the actors. We do not want a general strike. We want people to keep seeing the work,” the director added.
He also expressed the importance of getting a film like “Haunted Mansion” in front of moviegoers, especially in the shadow of other films with predominantly white casts.
“And this is a movie that I think gets buried if people aren’t out in front of it, talking about it, and I am absolutely the least famous person involved. But I’m allowed to do so,” he said. “And you know, I know not everyone’s happy about it, and I know what it might even look like, but it’s not my first rodeo trying to push for political action within the industry. Sometimes your part is inside the machine. That’s my part today.”
