The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has expelled Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar for writing on their HBO miniseries The Sympathizer during the 2023 writers’ strike, the guild announced Friday.
Park and McKellar, co-creators of the seven-episode adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 novel, did not appeal their expulsions, according to the WGA. The series, starring Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr., aired in 2024.
Variety has reached out to representatives for Park, McKellar, and HBO for comment.
The WGA also revealed that Anthony Cipriano has been suspended through May 1, 2026, for work on The Last Breath (formerly Untitled True Story Haunting—Thriller Project). Cipriano received a public censure and a lifetime ban from serving as a strike captain.
Park, 61, is best known for acclaimed films such as Oldboy (2003) and The Handmaiden (2016). His next feature, No Other Choice, will premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival later this month. McKellar, a Canadian actor and filmmaker, is known for Last Night (1998) and shares a screenplay credit on No Other Choice alongside Park, Lee Kyoung-mi, and Lee Ja-hye.
Friday’s announcement also disclosed the identities of three writers previously disciplined for strike violations but unnamed until now. The WGA has already taken action against seven writers for alleged violations during the 2023 strike.
In a memo to members, WGA leaders stated that the board had “decided that the disciplines should be made public.”
Earlier this year, the membership narrowly upheld the expulsions of Roma Roth and Edward Drake, and approved the suspension of Julie Bush. However, members overturned a public censure of Tim Doyle, who had been accused of “engaging in conduct unbecoming of the guild” after making a joke “in poor taste” in a private Facebook group.
The WGA did not detail the specific strike violations by Park, McKellar, and Cipriano. In the memo, the guild expressed gratitude to the volunteers on the Strike Rules Compliance Committee, saying, “They investigated dozens of allegations of violations and determined whether there was sufficient evidence to send cases on to the Board for further action.”
The board also thanked members of trial committees who “volunteered their time for the delicate but necessary task of holding writers accountable to fulfill their obligations to their fellow members under the Strike Rules, Working Rules and WGAW Constitution.”
Source: Variety