NEWS
Updated below, 12:36 p.m.: The production agreed to recognize the union, and the picket has concluded.
Will Smith is filming a music video in Los Angeles on Friday, despite a picket organized by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
The non-union video is being produced at Quixote Studios in West Hollywood. Dejon Ellis, the business manager of IATSE Local 80, said the union asked the producers on Thursday to recognize the union and pay for pension and health benefits. The producers refused.
Smith showed up to the shoot on Friday morning, as IATSE was preparing to set up a picket line.
According to Ellis, about 20 crew members were fired on Thursday after the union requested recognition.
Stephen Trivieri — the president of the production company, Breathe Entertainment — said in an email that it was 10 crew members, and that they decided not to show up Friday at the insistence of the union.
Ellis denied that the union pulled the crew, and said it was the company that told them not to come in.
“Firing the crew is what picked this up a notch,” Ellis said. “That was not cool.”
Trivieri said it was made clear at the outset that it would be a non-union shoot.
“While this music video features a globally recognized artist, it was independently financed and produced outside the scope of major studio or label backing,” he said. “Like many artist-driven creative projects, this shoot was built around a clear non-union structure with transparent terms and fair compensation across all departments.”
IATSE often seeks to “flip” non-union music videos, commercials and low-budget films, so that the crew can get pension and health hours. Producers typically relent, but sometimes the union staff has to show up and threaten to pull the crew.
IATSE is aggressive about working to flip such shows, Ellis said.
“Los Angeles is a union town,” he said.
He said that some of the replacement crew walked out after realizing that the union was picketing.
Breathe Entertainment is based in Miami and Toronto. Trivieri said that the production is in compliance with California law. He also said that some of the crew wanted to have a vote, and would have voted against union recognition in order to keep shooting, but that IATSE would not allow it.
“It’s our second time shooting in L.A. so navigating has been interesting!” he said.
Emails to representatives for Smith were not immediately returned.
It is not uncommon for low-budget productions to recognize SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America, but to use non-union crew for below-the-line work. “Anora,” this year’s winner of the Oscar for best picture, started out that way in New York, and was flipped by IATSE midway through.
Update, 12:36 p.m.: The union has reached an agreement in principle with the production, and the picket is over, Ellis said. The crew has returned to work.
Trivieri confirmed that the union “opened up a dialogue” that led to an agreement. “The original 10-ish people are back on set,” he wrote.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
