The noted UFC icon, Conor McGregor has spread his popularity beyond the UFC with his ventures in multiple fields. His noted liquor brand, ‘Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey’ turned him into a businessman. It boosted his net worth to a massive $200M. Further, in the second half of 2022, reports started emerging about McGregor gearing up to make his silver screen debut as well.
Several other UFC fighters like Ronda Rousey have bagged big-money silver screen projects and worked under noted production houses. In 2022, McGregor also followed Rousey’s footsteps as he signed with Amazon Pictures for a remake of the noted 1989 action blockbuster ‘Road House’. The movie also comprised of a sequence that was shot during the UFC 285 event. But recent reports revealed that it might be under a minor trouble.
A recent report from ‘Variety‘ revealed that the famous Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, had restricted the movie from being released in theatres. The lead actor of the movie, ‘Jake Gyllenhaal’ and his team objected to Bezos’ choice and even arranged a private screening for the Amazon head honcho. But all of their efforts ended up in vain, as they failed to overturn Bezos’ decision.
When passion meets persuasion! Jake Gyllenhaal and Doug Liman, determined for a theatrical release of the ‘ROAD HOUSE’ remake, went to the extreme—screening it on Jeff Bezos’s yacht. Despite the effort, the film is set for streaming. ️
(https://t.co/R0P9FISnow) pic.twitter.com/uOO5hwy7i1
— Geek Vibes Nation (@GeekVibesNation) December 1, 2023
But it doesn’t mean that all of the effort that McGregor, Gyllenhaal, and their team put into ‘The Road House’ has been wasted. The movie will be released on Amazon’s own streaming platform soon. However, reports also mentioned that it was Jean Salke, the studio head of Amazon, who primarily objected to its release in theatres. A report published by ‘Marca‘ also mentioned that the movie may be facing the consequences of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
What is this SAG-AFTRA strike that is restricting the release of movie featuring Conor McGregor?
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is a union that also contains several noted Hollywood actors like George Clooney and Matt Damon. They act as a body to put up the demands of their members before production houses. In July this year, they joined a strike with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in demand of raising their remunerations for their projects.
This strike had also bothered the UFC’s parent organization, Endeavor’s CEO, Ari Emanuel, who also had negotiations with WGA authorities about lifting the strike. However, ‘Road House’ director, Doug Linman stated that the movie may lose millions due to the restriction on its theatre release. His words are probably enough to showcase that the strike is still pretty active.
So, will you tune into McGregor’s movie once it is released online?
