It’s been a difficult year for the entertainment industry. Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike against the Hollywood studios which make up the AMPTP. Now, however, it’s been revealed that SAG-AFTRA has finally reached a tentative agreement with the studios.
As shared via THR, “SAG-AFTRA has officially reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with studios, a move that is heralding the end of the 2023 actors’ strike.” The publication adds that “the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved the agreement in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA announced.”
Other details regarding the deal, which is said to have the strike “end at 12:01 am Thursday,” states that it “will go to the union’s national board on Friday for approval.”
“The performers’ union announced the provisional agreement on Wednesday, after about two weeks of renewed negotiations,” THR adds. “The development on Wednesday came not long before a deadline of 5 p.m. that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had set for the union to give their answer on whether they had a deal.”
It’s unknown what exactly the details of the agreement are. Though we can expect more information to come to light in the coming days. THR does note that “if the deal is ratified, the contract could soon go into effect, and if not, members would essentially send their labor negotiators back to the bargaining table with the AMPTP.”
Many of the issues discussed include streaming residuals and the ongoing usage of AI. This was a similar concern for the writers’ strike which recently ended, as the WGA was fearful of AI being manipulated by studios. Actors have similar fears that studios could reuse their likenesses and performances without permission via AI. Though it’s currently unknown what agreements they’ve made on these fronts.
Nevertheless, this seems like a promising development between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, especially with several months of the movie and television industry being impacted by strikes. “In the union’s upcoming ratification vote,” the publication concludes, “the date of which has not yet been announced, members will decide whether the pact is acceptable to them.”