WGA Lowers the Banhammer: Park & McKellar’s Hollywood Game Over?
Hello everyone. Gather ‘round, because we’ve got ourselves a textbook case of “how to nuke your own reputation in less time than it takes to boot up a badly optimized AAA title.” Two otherwise respectable creative forces – acclaimed director Park and multiple-Genie-award-winning McKellar – just got ejected from the Writers Guild of America West. Yes, ejected. As in forcefully yeeted out the airlock of the Hollywood mothership into the cold vacuum of career uncertainty.
The “What the Hell Were You Thinking?” Moment
So, what legendary crime against the cinematic gods did they commit? Did they leak scripts? Attack craft services? Attempt to recast a lead actor with AI? No. They broke the most obvious, neon-sign-posted rule during the WGA’s 2023 strike – they went ahead and worked. Yes, in the middle of an industry-wide work stoppage, with 25,000 union members holding the line, these two hit “continue” instead of “save and quit.” Gentle reminder: this wasn’t a weekend side hustle at Starbucks. It was doing the very thing the strike was about – writing – for a high-profile series nonetheless.
For comparison, this is the strike equivalent of being in a multiplayer raid where your team is holding their positions, and two members decide to charge the boss solo, triggering a wipe and getting everyone killed. And now – here come the consequences.
The Fallout
The WGAW handed them the highest penalty possible: full expulsion. Their names are now on the wall of shame alongside Anthony Cipriano, who’s suspended until 2026 for the same flavor of genius-level decision-making. And unlike loot bans in MMORPGs, this isn’t overturned by sending tearful notes to customer service. Readmission, if it ever comes, will require the Guild Board’s blessing – plus any fines or conditions they feel like tacking on. Think of it less like a timed ban and more like permadeath mode.
The Projects in Question
The ironic twist? The offending project – The Sympathizer – actually dropped in April 2024 to significant attention, with HBO pouring prestige vibes all over it and Robert Downey Jr. doing a five-role flex for the Emmy voters. Park and McKellar were credited for writing the entire thing. Downey didn’t win, of course – Lamorne Morris walked away with the prize – but it put the series on the awards map. Which makes me feel a bit like a doctor watching a patient finally recover from pneumonia only to sprint outside without a coat into the rain because they “felt fine.”
Next up, they’ve teamed up again for a black comedy titled No Other Choice, heading to the Venice Film Festival later this month. And here’s the part where everyone points out – possibly through clenched teeth – that this particular punishment won’t touch No Other Choice‘s debut one bit. The real question is what happens after. In theory, they can’t work for WGA signatory studios now. In practice, there’s a gap between the rulebook and reality, and plenty of industry veterans know it.
The Industry Takeaway
On paper, this is devastating. You lose WGA membership, you lose access to the vast majority of mainstream Hollywood players – Disney, HBO, Netflix, the whole raid party. But here’s the whisper-level conspiracy note for you: plenty of “non-signatory” companies exist outside that walled garden. Is it going to mean fewer prestige red carpets? Yes. Is it complete creative exile? Hardly. Some doors close, others open… usually in weird, neon-lit back alleys of the industry where the snacks are questionable but the deadlines are blissfully ignored.
Final Thoughts
This is a spectacularly avoidable scandal. Park and McKellar didn’t stumble over a complex legal misunderstanding or fall victim to studio politics. They ran headfirst into a brick wall they helped build, leaving a cartoon-shaped hole in the strike’s credibility. For a strike designed to show solidarity and collective willpower, the image of two high-profile members breaking ranks cuts deep. And for what? A project that could easily have been resumed – with their names shining on the credits – after the strike ended. Instead, they’ve managed to write themselves into a corner. Literally.
So will this mark the total end of their Hollywood quest? Maybe not. But it feels like they’ve burned through their extra lives, used up the medkits, and now they’re standing in the boss arena with one hit point left.
Overall impression? Bad. Entertaining to watch from the sidelines, sure, but bad. And in the gaming of Hollywood careers, this was an ill-timed aggro pull that’s going to haunt them for a while.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Source: WGA Toss Out Park Chan-wook & Don McKellar For Writing On HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’ During 2023 Strike, http://deadline.com/2025/08/park-chan-wook-wga-expulsion-don-mckellar-the-sympathizer-2023-strike-1236482886/
