A24’s ‘Past Lives’ Scores SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement for Awards Season Promotion

A24’s acclaimed drama “Past Lives” has been approved for the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, clearing its cast to promote the film at awards campaign events.

Having premiered at Sundance and in theaters this past summer, “Past Lives” is the debut film from writer-director Celine Song. The film stars Greta Lee as Nora, a Korean immigrant and writer who reunites after 24 years with her closest childhood friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo).

The reunion leads the pair, along with Nora’s husband Arthur (John Maguro) to reflect on the decisions and twists of fate that have shaped their lives. The film has been lauded by critics and has catapulted Lee, Yoo and Maguro into awards contention alongside Song.

A24, as a non-AMPTP independent studio, has been able to apply for SAG-AFTRA’s interim agreement for some of its ongoing productions, such as David Lowery’s “Mother Mary” starring Anne Hathaway. SAG-AFTRA has used the interim agreement as a tool to provide employment opportunities for its members and to keep indie productions running, provided that the production agrees to the terms presented to the AMPTP in the guild’s last proposal before the strike began.

Some films completed prior to the strike like Neon’s “Ferrari” have also been approved for the interim agreement so that actors can attend film festival premieres, but “Past Lives,” which had a limited theatrical release in June, sought interim agreement status for the purposes of awards campaigning. To date, only a few other indie films approved for the interim agreement, such as IFC Films’ “Monica” starring Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson, have applied for the agreement expressly for FYC purposes.

If the actors’ strike continues well into the fall, “Past Lives” will be able to have the sort of cast Q&As and other events that fellow awards contenders from major studios will not be able to enjoy as they usually would. Films like Universal’s “Oppenheimer,” Paramount/Apple’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” will not be able to have their casts present at any FYC events until an agreement on a new TV/theatrical contract is reached.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that “Past Lives” is the first film to be granted a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement for awards promotion. TheWrap regrets the error.

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