SAG-AFTRA Signs Historic £814 Million Deal With Hollywood Studios

After months of strikes, Hollywood actors and writers' battle for better pay from the studios ended as SAG-AFTRA agreed to a tentative deal.

The union has accepted a deal made by the Hollywood studios, marking the end of a four-month strike.

From July 14 onwards, US actors and writers completely shut down the entertainment industry, in demand for better contracts and pay as AI took over their work. This affected major TV shows and films with many predicting OTT platforms will run out of shows if the SAG-AFTRA strike doesn't end.

This led to the delay of several projects like Marvel's Blade, Fantastic Four, and Dune: Part Two. Some projects like the Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars have been delayed for a year because of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Many Hollywood stars like the cast of the Oppenheimer film refused to attend premieres and other promotional events because of this.

The strike affected award ceremonies too as the Emmys are happening in January instead of September. The Academy is relieved that the issue is resolved before the Oscar season begins in January.

The strikes reached London too as the UK film and TV crew staged protests on the red carpet of the London Film Festival recently.

Amidst this, the union unanimously voted to approve the tentative deal made by the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP).

Announcing that the fight is over, president of SAG-AFTRA Fran Drescher said: "We did it!!!!". Drescher termed the deal "historic" and thanked members "for hanging in and holding out" for it.

According to the union brief, they signed a deal worth over £814 million ( $1 billion) which included clauses for increasing the minimum salaries of the crew and a streaming participation bonus. The Hollywood studies also agreed to protect the actors if their images and voices are replicated by Artificial Intelligence.

The union will reveal more details of the agreement after a meeting on Friday. As of now, the SAG-AFTRA strike is officially over from Thursday, November 9 onwards.

SAG-AFTRA members and Hollywood actors celebrate the historic deal

Hollywood actors and union members celebrated this victory with stars like Zac Efron calling it "incredible" at the premiere of his latest film 'The Iron Claw'.

Meanwhile, Efron's co-star Jeremy Allen White exclaimed "That's amazing!" mid-interview on the red carpet when asked by Entertainment Tonight. White is known for the TV drama 'The Bear'.

Additionally, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer shared a dancing video on Instagram saying: "Who else is dancing right now??? Ready to work now that the strike is over! Congratulations and thank you to our @sagaftra negotiating committee!"

Jamie Lee Curtis said, "Perseverance pays off", in an Instagram post.

American star Mandy Moore thanked the SAG-AFTRA leadership for getting them over the finish line. "Let's get back to work, friends!" said posted on her Instagram story.

Through an Instagram post, actor Alec Baldwin congratulated everyone on behalf of SAG-AFTRA members for this deal.

Speaking about the historic deal, SAG-AFTRA negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the three-year contract will "make a long-term difference for the future of our members in this industry".

"There were definitely some tears, a lot of big smiles, a lot of hugs when the agreement was reached," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.

However, some SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee members have revealed that the approved contract was "not perfect" as the Hollywood studios didn't address all the issues.

Negotiating Committee member, Shaan Sharma said: "You can be happy for the deal overall, but you can feel a sense of loss for something that you didn't get that you thought was important."

Hollywood studio AMPTP said they are happy with the tentative agreement and "looking forward to telling great stories" as the industry resumes work.

The AMPTP termed this "the biggest contract-on-contract gains" in the union's history.

Initially, SAG-AFTRA negotiators had asked for royalties from shows and higher actors' pension and health plans along with better pay and AI guarantees.

Earlier in September, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) ended their separate strike after five months of negotiations.

According to an estimate by Deadline, the combined worth of the actors and writers deal will cost the California economy over ($6.5 billion).

Reacting to the SAG-AFTRA deal, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that the strikes impacted millions in LA and the country. Bass called it a "fair agreement".