Is It a Miracle? ‘The Chosen’ Given Waiver to Continue Filming – Watch
The Chosen, a crowdfunded television series about the life of Jesus Christ, has been granted permission to keep filming during the Hollywood strike.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike on May 15, 2023, in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The strike has shut down production on most Hollywood films and television shows.
However, The Chosen has been granted a waiver from SAG, allowing it to continue filming. The show is produced by VidAngel, a streaming service that specializes in family-friendly content. VidAngel has agreed to meet certain conditions in order to obtain the waiver, including paying actors and writers union scale wages.
Creator and director Dallas Jenkins made the announcement that filming would continue. “Great news! We just received word from SAG that we have been approved for a waiver. We’ll continue shooting on Monday,” he said in a statement to USA Today.
“We’ve worked hard to accommodate all of SAG’s requests and their interim agreement,” Jenkins continued. “We appreciate their recognition of us as an independent as well as their hard work in this process.” The director originally reacted to news of the strike using biblical references. “It’s upsetting and will cost time and money,” Jenkins wrote on social media. “But we bring our 5 loaves & 2 fish. God handles the rest.”
“Season 4 is entirely independent and 100% funded by donations,” he said, per USA Today. Even lead actor Jonathan Roumie, who is a SAG member, is permitted to continue working during the strike because of the unique funding for the project.
“We’ve submitted all the requested paperwork immediately,” he wrote on Friday just after the strike began. “We fit all qualifications for an exemption. You have our application for it. Every day that goes by without your response costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars while your actors are stuck in Utah.”
The Chosen is a popular show, with over 200 million views on YouTube. The show has been praised for its accurate portrayal of Jesus Christ and its focus on the humanity of the characters.
