Hollywood Actor Strike Over: SAG-AFTRA Reaches Deal with Studios

The SAG-AFTRA union and the Hollywood studios have reportedly reached a tentative agreement that will end the historic strike after 118 days of shutdown.

The tentative agreement was reportedly reached with a unanimous vote, which will reportedly end the strike at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. Per Variety:

The two sides spent the last several days putting the finishing touches on the deal, which will see the first-ever protections for actors against artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase. The deal will see most minimums increase by 7% — two percent above the increases received by the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.

The full details are expected to be released Friday, after the national board vote.

As the deal neared the finish line, AI remained one of the most complicated issues to resolve. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s top negotiator, met with Carol Lombardini, the CEO of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, via Zoom on Wednesday to work on the last details.

Prior to the announcement, it at least appeared that the strike would be ending soon, with Disney CEO Bob Iger telling CNBC that he felt “optimistic” the strike would be over, warning that the strike’s financial impact would become more severe if it began to effect the 2024 summer slate.

“Obviously we’d like to try to preserve a summer of films,” Iger said. “The entire industry is focused on that. We don’t have much time to do that.”

Heavy negotiations began over the weekend when the studios released a “last, best, and final” offer. The SAG-AFTRA demanded that it revise its language on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the AMPTP modified.

The SAG-AFTRA strike comes a little over a month after the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) ended its historic strike.

People on social media celebrated the end of the strike.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.