After 118 long days, the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to come to a fair deal that would bring an end to the actors’ strike. As a result of the negotiations, a tentative three-year deal was designed, followed by “bargaining sessions” (Collider) between SAG-AFTRA hotshots and the notable individuals of the studio, including Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav, Donna Langley, and Bob Iger.
SAG-AFTRA had joined hands with the WGA in July and brought about an ultimate shutdown in Hollywood. WGA reached a fair deal with the AMPTP in September end. Now that both the strikes are over, movies and shows whose production schedules were halted for a long time are now expected to resume. Collider confirms, “The SAG Strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. PT, November 9.”
SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP Deal
The negotiations between the actors’ union and AMPTP entailed a “historic” package that guaranteed a phenomenal spike in wages and bonuses. However, the problem area was concerning AI. The studio heads agreed to shield the actors from it, sealing the deal and bringing the approximately four-month-long fight to a close.
On Saturday, Sarandos told the guild leadership, “We didn’t just come toward you, we came all the way to you.” The deal is said to be affirmed by the coterie of over 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members. Per the reports, this strike is considered to be the longest strike in the union’s history.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher posted on Instagram a photo announcing the tentative agreement reached between the two parties. The photo was captioned with:
“We did it!!!! The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!Ty sag aftra members for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal! Ty neg comm, strike captains, staff, Duncan & Ray, our lawyers, the IA team , family and friends. Our sister unions for their unrelenting support! And the amptp for hearing us and meeting this moment! #sagaftrastrong”
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In a conversation with Reuters, Duncan Crabtree, the chief negotiator, admitted to having “some years, a lot of big smiles, a lot of hugs”, in the celebration of the successful deal. Alluding to the three-year-long contract, he said that it would “make a long-term difference for the future of our members in this industry.”
The deal, as BBC reports, was valued to be more than $1bn, which constituted an increase in minimum salaries, “a new “streaming participating bonus” and protection against AI.
Interestingly, both parties seem to be happy with how things have turned out to be. AMPTP expressed how pleased it is to reach a tentative agreement and “looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.” In addition, it also admitted that the deal gave SAG-AFTRA “the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union.”
What do the actors have to say about the deal?
As a consequence of the successful negotiations between the SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, a slew of actors have expressed their exhilaration over the same. Zac Efron called it “incredible” during the premiere of the wrestling film The Iron Claw.
Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer shared her excitement on Instagram by posting a photo of Deadline’s article that announced the end of the strike. The photo was captioned with, “Who else is dancing right now??? Ready to work now that the strike is over! Congratulations and thank you to our @sagaftra negotiating committee! Proud to stand in solidarity with all SAG members over the last 118 days 🎉🥳👏🏾🎊🙌🏽🍾 #SAGstrike #SAGstrong”
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Not only that, but Jamie Lee Curtis, the famous True Lies actress, shared her thoughts on Instagram, saying that “perseverance pays off.”
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Mandy Moore also expressed her excitement to resume work as she unraveled her emotions on Instagram, saying, “Let’s get back to work, friends!”
Congratulating everyone who was a part of making this deal come to reality, Alec Baldwin, in a post on her Instagram story, expressed his thoughts in a video.
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According to Deadline, both strikes have approximately cost the California economy more than $6.5 bn. This, as BBC throws light on, can significantly impact the lesser-known performers amidst “rising inflation and industry changes.”