Image: SAG-AFTRA
The 118-day Hollywood strike is finally over, allowing projects like One Piece and The Last of Us to start filming again.
SAG-AFTRA has officially reached a tentative agreement with film and TV production studios for a new three-year contract, finally bringing its 118-day actors’ strike to an end. The labour union announced that the strike would officially end at 12.01am on Thursday, with the strike suspended and all picket locations closed thereafter.
After weeks of renewed negotiations, SAG-AFTRA values its new contract at, “over one billion dollars.”
The actors’ strike is finally over
Talks between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers started up again over the last two weeks, though they had stalled over a critical disagreement concerning the use of AI. Negotiations began anew with additional adjustments to the proposed contract this week, with studios issuing SAG-AFTRA a deadline of 5pm on Wednesday to acknowledge the deal.
It looks like the new contract was satisfactory to the labour union, as a unanimous vote from the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved it and brought an end to the strike today. More details on the deal will likely arrive over the coming days, but the union confirmed on Twitter/X that it is valued at over, “one billion,” and includes, “‘above-pattern’ minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus.”
Additionally, actors’ pension and health caps have been raised, background performers have higher compensation and critical contract provisions in the contract will protect diverse communities. SAG-AFTRA notes that this contract, “will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers.”
Movies and TV shows can now head back into production
While the deal still has to be ratified by union members, the strikes’ end means that actors can officially come into work as early as Thursday this week. Major Hollywood productions have had to operate without press work from their stars due to the ongoing strike, but actors can now promote their work freely out of strike. Actors being unable to promote their projects has been a notable cause of multiple studio delays, including Dune: Part Two this year.
The writers’ strike also ended in Hollywood earlier this year, freeing writers and creatives to start planning out upcoming projects like One Piece Season 2 and The Last of Us Season 2. Unfortunately, those projects couldn’t move into production or start casting work as their actors were obviously on strike. All of that will likely change this week, as actors can finally be called back into work for their ongoing projects again.
A short overview of the 118-day actors’ strike
Negotiations over a new SAG-AFTRA contract with the AMPTP restarted in July with the hope of finally bringing the strike to an end. However, the studios were unwilling to agree to critical additions to a labour contract concerning streaming fees and AI usage. Talks between the union and studios broke down for two weeks before resuming on October 24, with four major studio CEOs (NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and Disney’s Bob Iger) getting personally involved in discussions.
The union closed in on a final contract agreement with the Hollywood studios over the next two weeks before talks once again broke down over the use of AI to replicate actors’ likenesses in TV/movie productions. As the strike dragged on, multiple movies and TV shows were delayed from their original release dates due to their striking cast - ranging from Deadpool 3 to a Minecraft movie. By the time a deal was finally struck, the 2023 acting strike had officially become the longest of its kind in Hollywood’s history, eclipsing a 1980 strike that ran for 95 days.