The General Workers Union (GWU) will be seeking a meeting with Film Commissioner Johann Grech, as concerns mount about the impact a Hollywood actors' strike will have on local film crews.
GWU General Secretary Josef Bugeja said union representatives have started reaching out to crew members working on the Gladiator sequel to offer support, he said.
The union intended to meet with Grech to trace a way forward, he said.
“We’re still waiting to understand the situation better, how long the strike might go on for and what the impacts will be,” Bugeja said. “Based on that assessment, we will then ask the film commissioner for a meeting.”
The GWU will also be holding a meeting internally next week to discuss the situation. It has not ruled out asking for a meeting with Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, he said.
The union is also hoping that British productions scheduled to be filmed in Malta and not affected by the strike will be able to begin shooting earlier in the year, allowing local crew members do not remain without work.
Filming on the set of 'Gladiator 2’ was put on hold on Friday after Hollywood’s actors’ union the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) announced an industry-wide strike.
Its members walked out at 9am on Friday (Malta time) after talks over pay and working conditions, including the use of generative AI (artificial intelligence), collapsed.
Hollywood stars Denzel Washington and Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal, currently shooting in Malta, are amongst the 160,000 actors and other workers worldwide affected by the strike.
Some of the cast and crew working on the Gladiator sequel are GWU members through the union's Professionals, Finance and Services Section. But Bugeja said the GWU had contacted all those working on the film, regardless of their membership status with the union.
Many film sector workers in Malta are not unionised, and sectoral organisers say many workers are discouraged from joining a union for fear of being blacklisted.
Filming paused
The upcoming Gladiator sequel, directed by Ridley Scott, employs hundreds of people in Malta, including an estimated 700 extras.
A source close to the project told Times of Malta that extras had been told on Thursday night not to come in the following day, adding that all that had been booked to work had been paid due to the late notice.
When asked if it was possible to continue filming without the film's leading actors, the film's co-producer Winston Azzopardi explained the difficulties.
"We have to shut down... there are bits and pieces to do, but the lead actors carry the story," he said.
"We're still working, just not filming... we'd love to know for how long but we don't know," Azzopardi said, describing the mood on set as "sombre."
Filming began in June and was expected to continue until the end of August.