Investors in Hollywood studios on Thursday cheered a tentative deal with actors that could help restart production of movies and shows halted by a series of strikes since spring. Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global gained 3% each, Netflix rose marginally, while Walt Disney jumped 4%, as it also benefited from strong earnings and a plan to cut more costs. The 118-day work stoppage by actors officially ended just after midnight with a three-year deal that the SAG-AFTRA union said was valued at more than $1 billion and included increases in minimum salaries and a new bonus paid by streamers.
Quick read
- No strikes in Hollywood for the first time in over six months
- Actors’ strike ended with a new three-year contract pending approval
- Deal includes increased minimum payments and more streaming revenue for actors
- Contract offers protections against AI in recreating performances
- Over 60,000 SAG-AFTRA members had been on strike since July 14
- Deal valued at over $1 billion, terms to be detailed after board review
- AI protection was a major negotiation point due to rapidly evolving technology
- The industry anticipates return to full production, including films like “Deadpool 3”
- Writers’ strike ended on Sept. 26, ahead of the actors
- Hollywood executives were directly involved in negotiations
- WGA supports the SAG-AFTRA deal, highlighting unity and success in negotiations
- Industry normalcy might be short-lived due to ongoing technological and market shifts
- SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher noted the cultural impact of such labor disputes
- The strikes left many crew members without work, interim agreements helped some
- Expectations of actors returning to work on paused productions and promotional events
- Potential for other strikes looms with video game performers’ concerns about AI use
- IATSE may also have significant negotiations in 2024 due to industry changes by streaming services
- The reality TV and visual effects artists are moving towards unionization
- Awards season to see a return to normal with the Emmys moved to January
The Associated Press has the story:
Hollywood strikes are over as actors reach deal with studios, return to work with writers
Newslooks- LOS ANGELES (AP)
On Thursday, for the first time in more than six months, neither Hollywood’s actors nor its writers will be on strike.
The long-awaited clearing in the industry’s stormiest season in decades comes as a deal was reached late Wednesday to end what was, at nearly four months, the longest strike ever for film and television actors.
The three-year contract must be approved by the board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and its members in the coming days. But union leadership declared that the strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, putting all of the parts of production back into action for the first time since spring.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, said the gains made in the deal justified the struggle.
“It’s an agreement that our members can be proud of. I’m certainly very proud of it,” Crabtree-Ireland told The Associated Press in an interview. “We said we would only accept a fair, equitable and respectful deal, and that’s precisely what this deal is. So I think our members, as we are able to release more of the details of it, will look at them and say, now this is something that was worth being on strike for.”
More than 60,000 SAG-AFTRA members went on strike July 14, joining screenwriters who had walked off the job more than two months earlier. It was the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. The studios and writers reached a deal that brought their strike to an end on Sept. 26.
The union valued the deal at over a billion dollars. Crabtree-Ireland said the deal includes boosts to minimum payments to actors, a greater share of streaming revenue going to performers, a bolstering of benefit plans and protections against the unfettered use of artificial intelligence in recreating performances. Details of the terms will not be released until after a meeting on Friday where board members review the contract.
The AI protections were a sticking point in the negotiations that had moved methodically, with both long breaks for both sides to huddle, since they restarted on Oct. 24.
“It is something that has evolved even while we’ve been in this negotiation process,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “The capabilities of generative AI tools have expanded dramatically. So we have really been focused on making sure that the guardrails that we negotiated for were future-proof or at least future-resistant.”
The other side in the negotiations, Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement that the “agreement represents a new paradigm. It gives SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union.” The AMPTP said it “looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”
Executives from top entertainment companies including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal had a direct hand in negotiations.
The Writers Guild of America applauded Wednesday’s deal. “We’re thrilled to see SAG-AFTRA members win a contract that creates new protections for performers and gives them a greater share of the immense value they create,” the union said in a statement. “When workers are united, they win!”
Although the writers strike had immediate, visible effects for viewers, including the months-long suspension of late-night talk shows and “ Saturday Night Live,” the impact of the actors’ absence was not as immediately apparent. But its ripple effects — delayed release dates and waits for new show seasons — could be felt for months or even years.
Actors should quickly return to movie sets where productions were paused, including “Deadpool 3,” “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked.” Other movies and shows will restart shooting once returning writers finish scripts.
And beyond scripted productions, the end of the strike allows actors to return to red carpets, talk shows and podcasts, as Hollywood’s awards season approaches.
“The SAG strike is over!! I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX!” actor-director Albert Brooks said on social media moments after the strike ended. “Couldn’t say a word until now!!”
The only major awards show directly effected by the strike was the Emmys, which was moved from September to January. Now, the usual fall Oscar campaigns will mobilize.
But any feeling of industry normalcy could prove temporary. The circumstances that brought on the strikes — the shift from traditional theatrical and broadcast media to streaming, and emerging tech like AI — have not been slowed. And the gains made by the strikes may embolden other Hollywood unions, or these same guilds in negotiations that will come up again in three years.
Union leaders treated the strike like a watershed moment from the start, coming as it did amid wider labor fights in other industries.
“I think it’s a conversation now about the culture of big business, and how it treats everybody up and down the ladder in the name of profit,” SAG-AFTRA President and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher told AP in August.
The agreement also means a return to sets for thousands of film crew members who were left with nothing to work on during the strikes. SAG-AFTRA sought to offset their hardship by allowing sometimes controversial interim agreements for some smaller productions to proceed, and by making their strike relief fund available to all workers in the industry.
“The idea that I get to discover if I still remember how to act is very exciting,” said actor Ely Henry, who has spent the past months leading pickets outside Paramount Pictures as a strike captain. “I’m just grateful for the fact that so many people are going to get back to work.”
Here’s when you could see your favorite stars and shows return
Missed your favorite actors? After nearly four months of striking, they’re coming back.
Wednesday’s deal between striking actors and studios and streaming services won’t immediately restore filming to its full swing. That will take months.
But the tentative agreement — which both sides say include extraordinary provisions — means that more than six months of labor strife in the film and television industries is drawing to a close. Soon, tens of thousands of entertainment sector workers could get back to work. And popular franchises, like “Deadpool,” “Abbott Elementary” and “The Last of Us,” will be a step closer to returning to screens.
Hollywood loves a happy ending. The actors strike deal might provide that — though there’s still the chance of strike sequels in the months ahead.
Here’s some of what will happen next:
SO IS THE ACTORS STRIKE REALLY OVER?
Picket lines are suspended and the only rallies on the horizon are the celebratory ones that the actors union is promising.
There are a couple of steps that need to happen before the deal becomes official. On Friday, the national board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will review the agreement and could approve it. Then, the agreement’s details will be released and the guild’s full membership will vote on it.
But when striking screenwriters — who started picketing May 2 — reached their deal in September, their guild allowed writing work to resume before full ratification of the contract was complete.
While it’s possible those votes scuttle the deal, the union’s negotiating committee unanimously approved the deal and called off picketing.
WHAT’S IN THE DEAL?
The exact terms of the deal won’t be released until later this week, but a few highlights are known.
The union says the deal is worth more than $1 billion and they’ve “achieved a deal of extraordinary scope” that includes compensation increases, consent protections for use of artificial intelligence and actors’ likenesses and includes a new “streaming participation bonus.”
The negotiation arm of the studios also says the deal includes historic provisions. The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday the “tentative agreement represents a new paradigm.”
It said the companies are giving “SAG-AFTRA the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board.”
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, told The Associated Press the gains made the long strike worth it.
“It’s an agreement that our members can be proud of. I’m certainly very proud of it,” Crabtree-Ireland told the AP in an interview.
WHAT WILL START FILMING FIRST?
The strike put an immediate stop to “Deadpool 3” with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, as well as Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel. Those are likely among the first films that will resume production.
The resolution of the writers strike allowed script work to resume on shows like “Abbott Elementary,” “The White Lotus” and “Yellowjackets.” That head start might help those productions get back on the air sooner once their stars are cleared to work.
Television moves faster than movies, which still face a lengthy editing and promotional process once filming ends.
In recent weeks, more shows and movies announced delays — Kevin Costner’s final episodes of “Yellowstone” won’t air until next November and the next “Mission: Impossible” film also delayed its release.
WHAT OTHER CHANGES WILL I SEE NOW THAT THE STRIKE’S OVER?
Actors, lots more actors, will be talking about their work again. Splashy premieres will resume with their stars, as well.
Movies like “Killers of the Flower Moon” and this week’s big release, “The Marvels,” have been without their stars to promote the film. Strike rules forbid actors from promoting work done for the major studios, which kept Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson and many other actors from doing interviews.
That’s prevented many performers, like “Killers of the Flower Moon” breakout Lily Gladstone, from having some big celebratory moments. (For more examples of performances that didn’t get as much attention due to the strike, check out this list.)
Some projects have gotten exemptions, such as Michael Mann’s upcoming racing drama “Ferrari.” That freed stars Adam Driver and Patrick Dempsey to attend the Venice Film Festival — and also allowed Dempsey to do an interview with People when it named him its Sexiest Man Alive.
But as Hollywood heads into its awards season, expect to see more glamorous red carpet shots and interviews with stars.
WHAT ABOUT AWARDS SEASON?
Well, it’s definitely back on, and it’ll be supercharged.
One of the dual strikes’ ripple effects was to push the Emmy Awards from September into January. It’ll now join the Grammys, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Oscars in Hollywood’s traditional awards season. Those shows will all air between Jan. 15 and March 10.
Plans for the Emmys, and the SAG Awards, which will appear on Netflix, were in jeopardy as the strike got closer to 2024.
Still in limbo is the Golden Globe Awards, which is trying to reinvent itself after years of scandal, but doesn’t yet have a U.S. broadcast partner.
AFTER TWO MAJOR STRIKES, WHAT’S NEXT?
Another actors strike — this one by video game performers — is possible. Negotiations for that contract are ongoing, but a strike has been authorized.
Actors who work on video games range from voice performers to stunt performers. They, too, have expressed concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in their industry.
The studios in 2024 will also be negotiating with set workers and their guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. From building sets to controlling the lighting and even creating effects, IATSE members are crucial to film and television production. They have been severely impacted by the filming shutdown and have turned out on the picket lines to support the writers and actors.
One key element behind the actors and writers strikes has been how much streaming has upended the industry, which could also be a key point in the set worker negotiations.
And other sectors of the industry have moved to unionize while this year’s strikes played out. Some reality television workers are calling for a union, while visual effects artists who work on Marvel films voted to join IATSE.
