The New York Times describes Hollywood as currently being “80 percent shut down” amid the writers strike, which has proven highly impactful thanks to strong organization, strategy, and solidarity from the other unions. While the WGA is the only film industry guild currently on strike, and filming can (in theory) take place without having a writer on set, members of other unions have the right to refuse to cross a picket line at their place of work. Thanks to tip-offs about where shoots are scheduled to take place, WGA members have been able to get to the locations first and set up picket lines, which very effectively shuts down production in most cases. Many WGA members believe that no filming should take place while writers are on strike, because even a small line change by the director or an actor improvising lines are forms of strikebreaking.
Still, some productions have been able to carry on — primarily those shoots taking place outside of the WGA hubs of Los Angeles and New York. “Andor” season 2 has carried on filming in the U.K. without any ongoing input from showrunner Tony Gilroy, and Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel has been filming in Malta. If SAG-AFTRA declares a strike, though, it doesn’t matter where in the world its members are: everyone must stop work, from major stars with eight-figure deals, to actors in minor roles with just one or two lines.
Some filming could potentially carry on — for example, helicopter and drone shots of landscapes for establishing shots — but there are very few shots in a typical film that don’t feature actors, and even stunts are off-limits since stunt coordinators and performers are covered by SAG-AFTRA. Post-production work like VFX and musical scoring can continue, but actors cannot do ADR (re-recording lines) or any other post-production work.