Park Chan-wook Expelled from Writers Guild of America for Strike-Breaking on The Sympathizer
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Park Chan-wook has been expelled from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for violating strike rules. The Oldboy and Decision to Leave director, along with Don McKellar, wrote the screenplay for The Sympathizer during the union’s six-month strike in 2023, leading to both being removed from membership.
The Hollywood strikes lasted nearly six months, halting production on numerous film and television projects both inside and outside the U.S.
In a statement, the WGA West said of Park, McKellar, and Anthony Cipriano: “Three other members have been disciplined for strike-breaking during the 2023 strike. In each of these cases, the Board of Directors voted to make the discipline public.”
More than 25,000 WGA members went on strike from May 2 to September 27, 2023. The SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike followed from July 14 to November 9.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer stars Robert Downey Jr. and spans seven episodes. Mixing historical drama and espionage, the story follows a North Vietnamese spy embedded in the South Vietnamese army. After being exiled to the United States, he remains within the South Vietnamese community and works as a consultant on a film about the Vietnam War, before ultimately returning to Vietnam to fight against the Communists.
The cast also includes Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh. Downey Jr. plays multiple roles in the series, including a CIA operative, a Hollywood director, and a congressman. Park previously directed the 2018 miniseries The Little Drummer Girl.
