Crew members working on the Terrence Howard feature film “Cipher” are on strike against the production in an attempt to secure a union contract. Production began on Monday, May 12, and is scheduled to film in Adair, Fayette, Russell and Woodford counties in Kentucky.
The production allegedly refused a request to recognize the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) as the crew’s bargaining representative. IATSE is the union that represents a broad spectrum of behind-the-scenes labor, from cinematographers and lighting technicians to costume designers and sound engineers. Only two weeks into the production of “Cipher,” the crew organized a strike. The picket line formed on Wednesday, May 28, in front of the base camp and crew parking location.
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Written and directed by Tony Giglio (“Doom: Annihilation”), “Cipher” will feature Howard alongside Joel David Moore (“Avatar”) and Paula Patton (“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”). As an Oscar-nominated actor known for roles in films like “Hustle & Flow” and “Iron Man” as well as the Fox television series “Empire,” Howard’s presence in the production is pivotal. The production has contracts with the performers’ labor union, SAG-AFTRA, as well as the Directors Guild of America.
The film claimed a budget of only $3 million — which is considered low for a feature film in the U.S. The production was also eligible for more than $1 million in state tax credits from the Kentucky Entertainment Initiative. These numbers are a matter of public record, so the refusal by Cipher LLC to grant a union contract to the local crew set off alarm bells for the crew.
An anonymous source from the production who identifies as “a born and raised Kentuckian” gave an exclusive interview with LEO about “the unsafe and inequitable working conditions on the set of ‘Cipher’ via Cipher LLC / Toric Films / JLE Cinema Group.”
Calling for Accountability and Fairness
Our source said Ojan Missaghi and David Wachs of the production company Toric Films have been “the worst offenders on set.” Toric Films is “the one that is at fault and should be held liable, especially [Missaghi and Wachs].”
According to a collaborative document created by crew members, infractions include untrained personnel, disordered labor assignments, unsafe locations, unsafe use of equipment (Cipher LLC asked crew members to waive liability for injuries occurring on set before being allowed to return to set) and severe weather concerns.
“Crew were instructed to work while exposed to severe weather conditions: during a tornado watch outside and with lightning strikes within six miles of the site.”
Other infractions described by crew members as “egregious” include unfair labor practices.
“All crew were required as a condition of employment to sign contracts that denied them status as employees while dictating the hours and conditions required,” the document said. “By illegally misclassifying the crew as contractors, they denied workers compensation liability, made low-wage workers responsible for paying their own required employment taxes, and required unpaid labor hours at threat of dismissal.”
In addition to these unfair labor practices, crew members allege wage theft. “No mileage or fuel reimbursements (are) given to crew to compensate for use of personal vehicles,” a standard practice for on-location filming.
The crew also allege that Cipher LLC gave special treatment to strikebreakers. After the original director of photography joined the strike, Cipher LLC hired Shaun Hart from Los Angeles. In response to an out-of-state strikebreaker joining the production, our source said, “It would cost them so much less money to sign a union contract than for them to dig their heels in with their ego and hire scabs. They are wasting money right now.”
Holding the Line
Cipher LLC was awarded a potential tax incentive rebate from the Commonwealth of Kentucky for $1,002,240.00, the document said. “However, the producers expressed an intent to only spend $600,000 on the below-the-line crew and expenses, retaining the remainder of the nearly $4 million total production budget for above-the-line salaries and post-production [costs]. This is extremely atypical of productions of this size in other markets.”
“This is not the kind of production that we need to have here in Kentucky. This tax incentive program is such a beautiful blessing for us to be able to keep Kentucky jobs,” the anonymous source said. “When people come in to abuse the tax incentives, Kentuckians are the ones left hurt.”
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The emergency guidelines for the Kentucky Entertainment Incentive were updated on Thursday, May 29. Our source said the guidelines were reissued because they had been pulled “after a group called Stargazer came to Kentucky and abused the tax incentive by misappropriating funds.”
“It’s egregious. And in any other industry it wouldn’t be tolerated,” they said. “It’s up to us to be able to hold the line and establish that we deserve everything else that the market around the nation deserves as well. Just because we’re Kentuckians doesn’t mean we’re lesser than. Just because we’re below-the-line doesn’t mean we’re lesser than.”
Negotiations Incoming
The Kentucky Right-to-Work Act forbids new union contracts from requiring employees to pay union dues or lose their jobs. This makes it uniquely difficult for film production crews to strike. “It’s a sacrifice,” our source said. “Any strike is a sacrifice, but it’s worth it for the greater good.”
IATSE has intervened to negotiate a contract on behalf of the “Cipher” crew. The strike is supported by Local 161, Local 492, and Local 798, as well as the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Local 600.
502 Film, the organization founded by Soozie Eastman that offers film production support, education, and training in Louisville — and that serves as the official film agency partner of Louisville Metro and Louisville Tourism — posted on Instagram that 502 Film has not made and will not make referrals to any productions whose crews are on strike. The post further clarified that any referrals that have been made were made before the strike.
This is the second news-making strike involving IATSE in the past week, after a picket line formed in front of a Will Smith music video on Friday, May 23, in Los Angeles. That strike resulted in an IATSE contract signed on the same day. The strike in Kentucky continues. Some amount of production has also continued while Cipher LLC looks for replacement crew.
“Terrence Howard has the power to withhold his labor and get a contract struck in solidarity,” the source said. “The creative community here in Kentucky should have their labor valued the same as the rest of our market peers across [the U.S. film industry].”
Despite the turbulence of this particular production, our source said, “I really see a bright future for Kentuckians, especially Kentuckians in film. And we deserve to have the same workers rights that any other employee would.”
This article appears in May 23 – Jun 5, 2025.