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  • Read The Deal Here! As Fran Drescher Promised, SAG-AFTRA Releases Full Tentative Agreement With Studios As Ratification Voting Continues

    Read The Deal Here! As Fran Drescher Promised, SAG-AFTRA Releases Full Tentative Agreement With Studios As Ratification Voting Continues

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    Over two weeks after SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with the studios and ended their nearly four-month long strike, the actors guild has just released the full text of the tentative agreement.

    We’ll get into the fine print soon with analysis of this draft document (as Guild National Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland notes: “The MOA  is not ‘final’ until signed by both parties), but for now read the full Memorandum of Agreement for yourself here.

    A Friday news dump by any other name, the publication of the long awaited 129-page 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts Memorandum of Agreement was promised two days ago by Guild president Fran Drescher.

    “As you may know, traditionally SAG-AFTRA contract ratification votes rely on our detailed summaries of the new agreement, as the drafting of a formal memorandum of agreement (MOA) usually takes many weeks,” Crabtree-Ireland said in a note accompanying the “document in progress” MOA link sent to Guild members this afternoon. “However, for this historic deal some members have asked to review the full draft MOA during the ratification voting period,” the Guild leader added. For greater context, the Guild also included links to the past several previous contracts too.  See Crabtree-Ireland’s full note below.

    Today’s MOA release also comes as eligible members of the 160,000-strong SAG-AFTRA have been voting on ratification of the proposed new three-year contract since November 14. The ratification vote runs until December 5, but a well placed source told me the online voting was “really heavy” in the opening days.

    On November 10, two days after SAG-AFTRA and the CEO Gang of Four-led studios settled the strike that had shut down production in Hollywood, the actors guild leadership gave a press conference on the agreement and put out a bullet points overview of the new deal – after 86% of the National Board voted to take the matter to members for ratification. SAG-AFTRA has proclaimed the agreement to be of “extraordinary scope,” and “valued at over one billion dollars in new wages and benefit plan funding.”

    As criticism of the potential deal rose, specifically around the AI provisions, SAG-AFTRA dropped an 18-page summary of the agreement late on November 12 – just before the first of many Guild information sessions with Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland kicked off on November 13.

    “This deal has set the groundwork for our future and generations to come, it is major,” Drescher told members on that virtual info session on November 13. “We didn’t get that, but we got this, this, this and this, and we’ll get that next time,” she added taking a swipe at “low-level people” who pilloried the agreement, as far as they knew. “In negotiation, you have to weigh and measure and make your informed decision on behalf of the greater good.”

    In recent days, Justine Bateman, who served as an AI advisor to the negotiating committee, and Matthew Modine, who was one of nine National Board members who voted against sending the deal to members for ratification, have come out sharply against the agreement – undoubtedly in part why the document was released today.

    SAG-AFTRA’s Fran Drescher and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

    Getty Images

    Read Duncan Crabtree-Ireland’s full note to SAG-AFTRA members today here:

    Dear Members,

    As you may know, traditionally SAG-AFTRA contract ratification votes rely on our detailed summaries of the new agreement, as the drafting of a formal memorandum of agreement (MOA) usually takes many weeks. However, for this historic deal some members have asked to review the full draft MOA during the ratification voting period.  

    I’m pleased to advise that the draft MOA containing detailed language on all of the changes in the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts tentative agreement has now been posted to sagaftra.org/contracts2023. Click here to view it.

    These contracts achieve more than $1 billion in NEW compensation and benefit plan funding (including an additional $317.2 million to the benefit plans). The contracts establish lengthy and detailed AI guardrails that didn’t exist before and do protect you as we meet the challenge of this new technology, hair and makeup equity, significantly increased background coverage, outsized streaming residuals, a new streaming success fund, and so much more. These gains are only possible because of your sacrifice, solidarity and tenacity over the 118 days of the strike and are assured if you vote to ratify the agreement.

    As you will see in the MOA, this is a draft document and is being provided to you for informational purposes only to assist your decision making during this ratification process. The MOA  is not “final” until signed by both parties. 

    As an additional reference to aid your review of this draft MOA, you may wish to refer to the contracts it modifies, builds upon and improves, specifically the 2014 Codified Basic Agreement and Television Agreement, both as amended by the 2017 and 2020 memorandum of agreements which followed. 

    Please review these details closely to understand all of the meaningful improvements. Your National Board and Negotiating Committee both voted to approve and recommend a YES vote. To lock in these gains, you must vote to approve by 5 p.m. PT on Dec. 5, 2023. To register your vote, please visit vote.ivsballot.com/tvtheatrical2023 and use the PIN on the postcard that was mailed to eligible SAG-AFTRA members on Tuesday, Nov. 14 or if needed, your PIN can be retrieved from the voting website. 

    And lastly, if you haven’t already, visit sagaftra.org/contracts2023, where you can watch videos of informational meetings, read FAQs and find many AI resources regarding the gains in this contract. 

    In strength together,

    Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

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    Dominic Patten

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  • Kumail Nanjiani, Daniel Dae Kim and Hollywood Guilds Celebrate Tentative SAG-AFTRA Deal After 118 Days on Strike: ‘Let’s Hope the Deal Is Fair’

    Kumail Nanjiani, Daniel Dae Kim and Hollywood Guilds Celebrate Tentative SAG-AFTRA Deal After 118 Days on Strike: ‘Let’s Hope the Deal Is Fair’

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    Hollywood may soon be back in business.

    SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). If ratified, the new contract would end the actors union’s historic 118-day strike.

    “We’re set up to go six months if we have to,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said when the strike began on July 14, and while it didn’t reach that point, the work stoppage did last longer than expected. People on all sides of the entertainment industry felt hopeful that the AMPTP would reach common ground with the actors after the Sept. 26 end of the 148-day Writers Guild of America strike thanks to a deal the WGA negotiating committee called “exceptional.”

    And while that deal did make room for SAG-AFTRA to begin negotiating again on Oct. 2, by Oct. 11, those talks had fallen apart, with the union alleging “bully tactics” on the studios’ part, while the studios said the divide between the parties was “too great.”

    As the strike approached 100 days, A-list actors like George Clooney pressured Drescher and SAG-AFTRA leadership to reach a deal, even putting forth a (rejected) proposal of their own to increase dues and decrease residuals for the top-earners in order to make up for some of the money the studios were refusing to pay. But the studios did finally invite the guild back to the bargaining table on Oct. 24 with a new offer. By Nov. 4, they had delivered their “last, best and final offer” — which was deliberated on for four more days.

    On Nov. 8, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav expressed optimism that the strike would end soon on their companies’ respective earnings calls. Later that day, the two parties finally reached a tentative agreement, causing wide celebration throughout the business as SAG-AFTRA members wait to vote on and likely ratify their new contract.

    “Woo hooo!!!! Let’s hope the deal is fair and we can get back to work!” wrote Daniel Dae Kim on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    “Say what???? YAY!!! The strike is over!!!!! @sagaftra” posted Rosie Perez.

    On Threads, DC Studios co-chief and co-CEO James Gunn posted a simple praying hands emoji.

    “Union strong,” wrote Dani Fernandez. “Being both WGA and SAG I have been on strike since May 2nd. Good lord. Thank you to everyone who had our back. Thank you to all my sister unions for joining the lines. Thank you to our strike captains, neg com, and pre guild folks who showed up.
    Strikes work.”

    Along with the deal itself, the fact that actors will now be allowed to publicly discuss their projects again has created cause for celebration.

    “YES!!! Hallelujah. I can tweet a certain trailer that I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT at midnight,” posted Kumail Nanjiani on X, formerly known as Twitter. He is most likely referring to “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” for which a trailer was released on Wednesday.

    “I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX!” wrote Albert Brooks on X, formerly known as Twitter, about his film “Defending My Life.” “I can finally say it: watch my documentary Saturday night at 8 on HBO/MAX! I can’t wait for you to see it! Couldn’t say a word until now!!”

    The Directors Guild of America shared a statement, saying, “Congratulations to SAG-AFTRA on successfully reaching a tentative agreement that addresses the unique needs of their members. Directors and their teams look forward to our industry getting back to work and collaborating with actors, writers, craftspeople and crews to create film and television that entertains billions around the world.”

    The Producers Guild of America also weighed in. “The Producers Guild of America congratulates SAG-AFTRA for their unwavering dedication in reaching an agreement with the studios,” the union said. “We eagerly look forward to collaborating with our fellow writers, actors and directors as we collectively work towards revitalizing our industry and returning to work.”

    See more reactions to the end of the actors’ strike below.

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  • SAG-AFTRA & Studio CEOs End Tonight’s Talks With No Deal; More Negotiations In Works For Tuesday – Update

    SAG-AFTRA & Studio CEOs End Tonight’s Talks With No Deal; More Negotiations In Works For Tuesday – Update

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    2nd UPDATE, 10:29 PM – EXCLUSIVE: The actors union and the studios have finally called it a night on their latest talks in search of a new three-year contract.

    In the last 30 minutes or so, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP ended a long bargaining session that started this afternoon. The thinking is they will resume negotiations on the 117th day of the strike — tomorrow, November 7. However, at this later hour, no definite time has been set yet for when they will meet again.

    Tonight’s meeting was a virtual get together the CEO Gang of Four with joining AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini and SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, among others.  Netflix‘s Ted Sarandos, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Disney’s Bob Iger have all been participating in talks directly on and off since the lasted negotiations began on October 24.

    “This was a productive session, some work still required before there’s a deal,” a studio insider told Deadline tonight of the gathering that followed the guild’s response to the studios’ so-called “best, last and final offer” last week “There’s still some serious daylight between us, at least as of right now,” he added.

    David Zaslav, Ted Sarandos, Donna Langley & Bob Iger

    Getty

    As has been the case for months, AI remains one of the major issues that divides the guild and the studios. The latter are looking to seal the deal with what one source called “an expanded version of what the WGA agreed to.” The former want project specific protections on scans of performers and re-use of their likenesses. Well-positioned sources on both sides admit that part of the problem they are having is coming up with effective guardrails for a technology that is evolving in leaps and bounds.

    1st UPDATE, 4:20 PM: As the back and forth between SAG-AFTRA and the studios continues Monday, an end to the 116-day actors strike may not be imminent.

    “There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI,” the guild said in a letter to members in the last hour. “We will keep you informed as events unfold.”

    Here’s the full letter:

    Dear Member,

    This morning our negotiators formally responded to the AMPTP’s “Last, Best & Final” offer.

    Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly.

    There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI. We will keep you informed as events unfold.

    In solidarity and gratitude,

    Your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee

    The letter follows the guild delivering their response to the studios’ “last, best & final” offer on a new TV and movie contract earlier in the day. As Deadline reported, the parties are scheduling new negotiations which could begin as soon as this evening.

    AI has been one of the primary sticking points between the sides since the beginning of their initial talks in June. Since that time, the technology has evolved so rapidly that there are questions on both sides as to how many protections could actually be put into a new three-year deal.

    “It’s not bulletproof, everyone has to recognize that,” a studio executive told Deadline today about any potential AI agreement. With IATSE and Teamsters negotiations coming next year, the exec noted that it’s just a matter of months before studios will be back in deliberations with the likes of the DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA on the next three-year contract.

    PREVIOUSLY, 2:38 PM: EXCLUSIVE: A deal may not be in the cards tonight, but SAG-AFTRA and the studios could be heading back to negotiations within hours.

    The two sides are hoping to speak virtually later today and perhaps into the night, we hear.

    As of right now, no meetings have been formally set, according to a guild source, but they are expecting to lock in a time “very soon.”

    It is unclear at present whether the CEO Gang of Four — NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav, Disney’s Bob Iger and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos — will be participating in these new talks, which are said to include guild Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.

    This potential latest sit-down comes as the striking actors guild sent back a response earlier Monday to the AMPTP’s so-called “last, best and final” offer of November 3.

    That response was “measured,” as a guild member close to talks tells us on this 116th day of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The guild spent most of the weekend “reviewing” the hundreds of pages of the proposal from the studios — a proposal that is a response to SAG-AFTRA’s “comprehensive counter” of late October.

    “Everybody knows where everybody stands,” a studio insider told Deadline this afternoon. “Now, it’s about bringing it home, if we can,” he added with some optimism. Despite the ominous tone of the studios’ most recent offer, the tactic never truly excluded having talks between both sides continue into this week.

    With “a lot to digest” for the SAG-AFTRA in the studio’s offer, according to one source, details reportedly include the highest wage increases for actors in 40 years. Additionally, there was a 100% uptick in performance compensation bonuses for high-budget streaming series and films in the AMPTP package, which a boatload of CEOs got on a brief Zoom call on November 4 to brief guild brass. Perhaps the crown jewel in the studios’ package is what have been called “full” AI protections. Put together, along with health and pension fund contributions and more, the execs feel their offer went “a long way to what SAG wanted,” per an industry source over the weekend. 

    RELATED: Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Striking NYC Actors On Stress, Hope, Fran Drescher & Yoga

    Or, as Netflix’s co-CEO Sarandos told SAG-AFTRA leaders on Saturday, “We didn’t just come toward you, we came all the way to you.” If execs thought that was going to get them across the line by now, clearly they were disappointed. One insider on the studio side, expecting a deal Sunday night, informed us they had to pull the plug on a scheduled production that was getting ramped up today.  

    You’ll remember that it’s tricky for TV and feature productions to shoot, even though the writers strike has ended. SAG-AFTRA pickets were out in full force, shutting down a B-roll shoot with extras of Netflix’s Nicole Kidman limited series The Perfect Couple in Nantucket on September 28. It doesn’t matter where Hollywood is shooting; the guild will keep them in check. The problem with The Perfect Couple was that it was using non-guild members as extras on camera, which was a big no-no for local union actors in Massachusetts.  

    RELATED: Optimistic Fran Drescher Rebukes Criticism Of Her SAG-AFTRA Leadership: “I Can Be Me”

    The combination of the now-resolved WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike is estimated to have cost the California economy over $6.5 billion so far. With guild members united but feeling the financial squeeze, another fallout aspect of the nearly total shutdown of production has been the loss of 45,000 entertainment industry jobs.

    If a new deal is reached, the turnaround on how fast actors can go back to work and promote new TV series and films remains in question. Given the size of SAG-AFTRA at 160,000 members, it’s figured that actors’ return to work during a contract ratification period might not be as feasible as it was for the 12,000-strong WGA, whose members returned before a final vote on their new contract.

    In that context, SAG-AFTRA members and their allies were out in force in front of studio lots and offices in Los Angeles and New York today, with a near full week of picketing planned as of right now. This week also will see two of the top-tier CEOs facing Wall Street scrutiny as both Warner Bros Discovery and Disney release their latest quarterly earnings and project into the New Year.

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  • SAG-AFTRA May Take Another Day to Respond to Studios’ ‘Best and Final’ Offer

    SAG-AFTRA May Take Another Day to Respond to Studios’ ‘Best and Final’ Offer

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    SAG-AFTRA may take another day to respond to the studios’ “last, best and final” offer, as the union’s negotiating committee continues to weigh its next move.

    The studios last talked to union leadership on Saturday afternoon, when a large group of CEOs sought to make clear that they will not make further concessions.

    After that meeting, some members of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee expressed dissatisfaction with the studios’ offer. At least four of them retweeted a post that urged A-list actors to pressure the studio heads to come back with better terms.

    “The time has come for you to put pressure on the CEOs,” wrote the poster, Chelsea Schwartz, a SAG-AFTRA strike captain. “Call the studio heads. Shout at them on social media. Tell them to accept our deal. You can help us end this strike and save our profession! We’re stronger together!”

    Hollywood is eagerly awaiting the union’s response, as many hope to return to work as soon as possible after a six-month labor stoppage.

    During the brief Zoom meeting on Saturday, SAG-AFTRA leaders advised that they would need more time to analyze and discuss the studios’ offer before giving their response. It was left unclear when the union would respond, though at least some on the studio side hoped to get a response on Sunday.

    As of Sunday afternoon, however, it appeared that the response would have to wait until Monday, as the union continued to discuss the proposal internally.

    The studios’ offer includes a success-based bonus structure in streaming. Under the proposal, actors would get double their typical residual if they appear in a show that ranks among the most-watched on a streaming platform.

    The studios have steadily improved that bonus as the talks have gone on, but they have not acceded to the union’s demand for a cut of total streaming revenue.

    The studios also offered protections against artificial intelligence, and what the studios have described as “historic” wage increases. The union has held out for robust protections against the use of AI to create “digital doubles.” The fears are especially acute for background actors, who could be among those first replaced by AI technology.

    By invoking the term “last, best and final,” the studios are signaling that there will be no further negotiations, and that the offer on the table is essentially a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. However, the union can push back on elements it dislikes, and always has the option to remain on strike.

    The strike is now in its 115th day.

    Cynthia Littleton contributed to this story.

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  • SAG-AFTRA to Meet Studios Again Wednesday After Another ‘Productive’ Day of Talks

    SAG-AFTRA to Meet Studios Again Wednesday After Another ‘Productive’ Day of Talks

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    SAG-AFTRA is set to meet again on Wednesday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers after a “productive” day of talks on Tuesday.

    The sides continue to project “cautious optimism” about resolving the strike, which is now on Day 110. The studios have warned that they must get a deal this week in order to be able to produce partial seasons of scripted network TV series.

    The union continues to bargain over the use of artificial intelligence, which has become one of the key remaining issues, though not the only one. The union is not seeking for forbid studios from using AI to create “digital doubles,” but does want language guaranteeing consent and minimum compensation for such use. The union has also sought to restrict AI training on past work, and has asked for a provision giving the union a veto over AI uses.

    Once again, four studio CEOs — David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, Ted Sarandos of Netflix, Donna Langley of NBC Universal, and Bob Iger of Disney — did not participate in the talks on Tuesday. They have not been at the negotiating table since last Thursday, leaving the bargaining again to AMPTP CEO Carol Lombardini and her staff.

    For the 111th day of the strike on Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA is holding a “unity picket” at Disney headquarters in Burbank. Picketing at other L.A. locations will be canceled for the day.

    On Monday night, the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee said that recent talks had been productive, but said the two sides remain “far apart on key issues.”

    The union has also urged members to keep up the pressure on the AMPTP by continuing to picket, and by posting on social media in support of the strike.

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  • Hollywood writers strike declared over after union boards approve studio deal – National | Globalnews.ca

    Hollywood writers strike declared over after union boards approve studio deal – National | Globalnews.ca

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    Leaders of Hollywood’s writers union declared their nearly five-month-old strike over Tuesday after board members approved a contract agreement with studios.

    The governing boards of the eastern and western branches of the Writers Guild of America both voted to accept the deal, and afterward declared that the strike would be over and writers would be free to work starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

    The writers still have to vote to ratify the contract themselves, but lifting the strike will allow them to work during that process, the Writers Guild told members in an email.

    Hollywood actors remain on strike with no talks yet on the horizon.


    Click to play video: 'Hollywood North awaits end to writers strike'


    Hollywood North awaits end to writers strike


    A new spirit of optimism animated actors who were picketing Tuesday for the first time since writers reached their tentative deal Sunday night.

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    “For a hot second, I really thought that this was going to go on until next year,” said Marissa Cuevas, an actor who has appeared on the TV series “Kung Fu” and “The Big Bang Theory.” “Knowing that at least one of us has gotten a good deal gives a lot of hope that we will also get a good deal.”

    Writers’ picket lines have been suspended, but they were encouraged to walk in solidarity with actors, and many were on the lines Tuesday, including “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner, who picketed alongside friend and “ER” actor Noah Wyle as he has throughout the strikes.

    “We would never have had the leverage we had if SAG had not gone out,” Weiner said. “They were very brave to do it.”

    Striking actors voted to expand their walkout to include the lucrative video game market, a step that could put new pressure on Hollywood studios to make a deal with the performers who provide voices and stunts for games.


    Click to play video: 'Writers Guild and Hollywood studios reach tentative deal to end strike'


    Writers Guild and Hollywood studios reach tentative deal to end strike


    The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists announced the move late Monday, saying that 98% of its members voted to go on strike against video game companies if ongoing negotiations are not successful. The announcement came ahead of more talks planned for Tuesday.

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    Acting in video games can include a variety of roles, from voice performances to motion capture work as well as stunts. Video game actors went on strike in 2016 in a work stoppage that lasted nearly a year.

    Trending Now

    Some of the same issues are at play in the video game negotiations as in the broader actors strike that has shut down Hollywood for months, including wages, safety measures and protections on the use of artificial intelligence. The companies involved include gaming giants Activision, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Take 2 Productions as well as Disney and Warner Bros.? video game divisions.

    “It’s time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement.

    Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for video game producers, said they are “continuing to negotiate in good faith” and have reached tentative agreements on more than half of the proposals on the table.


    Click to play video: 'Lingering impact of the Hollywood writers’ strike'


    Lingering impact of the Hollywood writers’ strike


    So far this year, U.S. consumers have spent $34.9 billion on video games, consoles and accessories, according to market research group Circana.

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    The threat of a video game strike emerged as Hollywood writers were on the verge of getting back to work after months on the picket lines.

    The alliance of studios, streaming services and producers has chosen to negotiate only with the writers so far, and has made no overtures yet toward restarting talks with SAG-AFTRA. That will presumably change soon.

    SAG-AFTRA leaders have said they will look closely at the writers’ agreement, which includes many of the same issues, but it will not effect their demands.

    Associated Press video journalists Leslie Ambriz and Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

    &copy 2023 The Canadian Press

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  • We Have a Deal! Writers Strike Poised to End as WGA and Studios Reach a Tentative Agreement

    We Have a Deal! Writers Strike Poised to End as WGA and Studios Reach a Tentative Agreement

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    It took 146 days and multiple marathon negotiating sessions attended by CEOs including Bob Iger and David Zaslav, but the Hollywood writers strike appears poised to end. On Sunday night, the Writers Guild of America said it had reached a tentative deal for a new contract, signaling that writers could soon pack up their picket signs and return to work after a nearly five-month walkout. 

    In an email to members, the WGA negotiating committee said they are still working to draft final contract language and that they would send more details soon. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional—with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” it reads. Once the contract is finalized, the negotiating committee will vote on whether to send it on to WGA leadership for approval. Then the guild’s more than 11,000 members will be asked to vote to ratify the deal.

    Writers called their first strike in over a decade after walking away from contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on May 1. The guild framed the strike as the answer to an existential crisis facing writers, who had watched as streaming eroded the working conditions and pay structures that once propped up the industry. “The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the WGA said in a statement announcing the work stoppage.

    The strike, which began the next day, sent the industry into a tailspin. Late night shows like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live immediately halted production; writers rooms for popular TV shows including Abbott Elementary and Yellowjackets disbanded; the screenwriter on Marvel’s upcoming Blade reboot stopped sending in drafts.

    In mid-July, more than 160,000 actors and performers joined writers on the picket lines when their guild, SAG-AFTRA, also declared a strike. The first double strike in more than 60 years brought Hollywood to its knees, effectively ending all production that had continued during the writers work stoppage. Because of the labor action, the Television Academy postponed the Emmys, the studios moved release dates for high-profile movies including Dune: Part Two, and the broadcast networks stocked their fall TV schedules with reality shows, football, and reruns.

    After a 92-day stalemate, the WGA and AMPTP resumed negotiations in August, but made little progress. A counteroffer from the AMPTP included concessions on some key issues, including AI protections, but the WGA said those weren’t “nearly enough.” Top CEOs attempted to meet with members of the guild, but the face-to-face didn’t go well either—and after the AMPTP publicly released its counteroffer, talks stalled.

    Many industry insiders hoped to find a resolution to the strikes before Labor Day, a symbolic nadir in the ongoing fight because it’s when many top executives and creatives return from the Hamptons or the Mediterranean and expect to dig back into work. But the holiday weekend came and went without a deal.

    The start of fall has brought with it a renewed determination on both sides to stop the strike. On Wednesday, September 20, the WGA and AMPTP met for the first time in nearly a month. Notably, sources tell Vanity Fair that leaders from four of the major studios were present for the meeting, a rarity during labor bargaining sessions. The leaders—Iger, Zaslav, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and NBCUniversal Studio Group chairman Donna Langley—participated in a marathon sit-down with the hope of hammering out a workable deal, returning Thursday and Friday to continue negotiating. Ahead of the meeting, a studio-side source expressed optimism about reaching an agreement. “People are feeling the economic pressure and the realities of how long this has gone on. It’s impacting everyone, from the biggest corporations to the hairstylists to the restaurants. There’s a shared desire to get back to work,” the source added.

    WGA members showed up in droves to the picket lines on Friday after a Thursday evening email from guild leaders thanked them for “all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days” and requested “as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow.” Strike captains extended picketing outside many studios on Friday. The day ended without a deal, but negotiators agreed to meet again on Saturday and Sunday.

    Reaching a deal is the hardest step in these negotiations, but the strike isn’t over quite yet. Though the WGA is suspending picketing—and encouraging writers to support SAG-AFTRA on the picket lines—the negotiating committee wrote in its member email, “No one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild.”

    The WGA must now finalize its contract. As soon as Tuesday, the leadership groups at both the East and West branches of the WGA will then vote to send the contract to members for ratification. At that time, leadership will also vote on whether to allow writers to return to work while the official ratification is pending. But even if the writers strike ends this week, Hollywood won’t be back to business as usual until the AMPTP hammers out a deal with SAG-AFTRA.

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    Natalie Jarvey

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  • Writers Guild Keeps Mum As Studio Negotiations Resume

    Writers Guild Keeps Mum As Studio Negotiations Resume

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    Hollywood hopes are on the rise this weekend after the Writers Guild of America received a new package of proposals from the studio side on Friday, an offer apparently promising enough that the writers did not reject it out of hand.

    The glimmer of hope follows last week’s dispiriting meeting between the WGA and negotiators for Hollywood’s biggest studios. That confab, held a little more than a week ago, had left many insiders worried that the historic double strike being held by actors and writers against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) might not end until next year.

    Since May 1, the WGA has been on strike, after six weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP broke down. At stake for the writers are a multitude of concerns, including viewership-based streaming residual payments, the minimum size of writers’ rooms, and when artificial intelligence can be used as a writing tool. 

    Since then, the two sides have officially met only twice. First, there was a conversation on August 4 that was widely seen as a sign the contentious relationship between the WGA and AMPTP was easing. But following the confab, which was at the request of AMPTP president Carol Lombardini, the WGA told members that “the AMPTP playbook continues” and that discussion of “fundamental issues” was rejected at that meeting. “Rest assured,” the WGA said last week, “this committee does not intend to leave anyone behind, or make merely an incremental deal to conclude this strike.” 

    Just a few days later, Lombardini reached out to WGA negotiators again, this time to hold the first official negotiation session since the strike began. This time, the WGA said in a statement sent to members, the AMPTP offered up “a counterproposal.” The WGA “will evaluate their offer,” the writers union said, “and, after deliberation, [will] go back to them with the WGA’s response next week.”

    According to a statement from the WGA issued on August 4, one of the topics the AMPTP insisted on discussing was “press blackouts,” and though that didn’t happen after that meeting, it looks like the AMPTP got their wish for the latest summit.  Instead, members were told that “more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves.”

    “That will be our approach,” the WGA said in the statement, “at least for the time being, until there is something of significance to report, or unless management uses the media or industry surrogates to try to influence the narrative.” (A spokesperson for the WGA told Vanity Fair that the guild has “no further comment at this time,” while the AMPTP has not responded to requests for comment.)

    But while talks have resumed between the WGA and the AMPTP, there’s still the actors’ strike to contend with. SAG-AFTRA announced its walk-off on July 13, shutting down an industry that was already running on fumes since the writers stopped work two months before. But unlike the writers guild, the actors haven’t heard a peep from Lombardini, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland tells Deadline. “We have heard that they have a second meeting with the Writers Guild, which is very encouraging,” he said. “I hope that means that there will be some progress and maybe some momentum that will get started.” 

    Until both sides have a deal, Crabtree-Ireland says that picketing will continue at studios and streaming companies. “It’s something that strengthens both unions’ efforts,” he said. “We’ve been out here since day one of the writers’ strike, and we’re all in this together to ultimately win a fair deal.”

    Full text of the WGA’s August 11 negotiations update to members:

    Your Negotiating Committee received a counterproposal from the AMPTP today. We will evaluate their offer and, after deliberation, go back to them with the WGA’s response next week.  

    Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves. That will be our approach, at least for the time being, until there is something of significance to report, or unless management uses the media or industry surrogates to try to influence the narrative.

    The Guild always has the right to communicate with our members and will do so when we think there is news you need to know. 

    In the meantime, please continue to demonstrate your commitment by showing up to the picket lines: for yourselves, your fellow writers, SAG-AFTRA, fellow union members, and all those in our community who are impacted by the strikes.

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    Eve Batey

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  • Apocalypse Postponed: Actors and Studios Extend Contract Negotiations

    Apocalypse Postponed: Actors and Studios Extend Contract Negotiations

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    Hollywood has at least another week and a half to live. SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents some 160,000 actors and performers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have not yet agreed on a new deal, but they’re optimistic enough to have extended their contract negotiations until July 12, forestalling the possibility of a strike that would likely be even more debilitating that the ongoing one by Hollywood’s writers.

    The pressure has been mounting for the actors, whose contract with Hollywood’s biggest studios was originally set to expire at midnight on Friday, June 30. The writers, who’ve been picketing for two months, hope the actors will join them in the fight, increasing the pressure on the studios to accept their demands for increases in streaming residuals and protections against an AI incursion. In a video shared with members last week, SAG-AFTRA national president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland promised that they would achieve “a seminal deal.” But more than 1,000 stars, among them Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller, and Quinta Brunson, signed a letter addressed to leadership that made clear that they’d rather strike than accept a paltry deal. “This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us,” the letter reads. “We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it.”

    Extending negotiations will give SAG-AFTRA leadership a little more time, regardless of the outcome. It also pushes the deadline beyond the Fourth of July holiday, when Hollywood becomes a ghost town. In a joint statement, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP said that the guild’s television and theatrical contracts will be extended until July 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT. “The parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout,” they wrote.

    The actors have a history of pushing contract negotiations past their deadline. They did so in both 2014 and 2017, and many industry observers predicted a similar outcome this year given that they only had three-and-a-half weeks to hammer out a deal. SAG-AFTRA didn’t start talks with the AMPTP until June 7, after the group that represents studios and producers had already conducted negotiations with the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America. (The directors did not follow the writers to the picket lines, instead ratifying a new contract one week before its previous contract was set to expire.) In a separate letter to members, Drescher and Crabtree-Ireland noted the tight negotiating schedule, explaining that the decision to extend the contract was made “in order to exhaust every opportunity to achieve the righteous contract we all demand and deserve.” But, they added, “no one should mistake this extension for weakness.”

    It’s been more than 40 years since actors last went on strike against the Hollywood studios, and more than 60 since both writers and actors staged work stoppages at the same time. But the current contract negotiations arrive at a flashpoint for the entertainment industry, which has undergone a seismic shift in recent years as streaming services have flooded the market. Though streaming gigs are the most prevalent today, they don’t pay as well as broadcast and cable TV shows, making it harder for working actors to cobble together a sustainable income. “There’s this perception that as actors, we’re all rich Hollywood celebrities, but the majority of SAG does not make insane salaries,” Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actor Lauren Adams told Vanity Fair earlier this month. “A lot of us are making contract minimums, which in this day and age makes it really hard to have a career.”

    Like the writers, the actors are asking for raises and increased streaming residuals. They are also worried about how AI could threaten their livelihoods, and want there to be more guardrails around self-tape auditions, which proliferated during the pandemic.

    Writers have been effective at causing chaos for Hollywood since their strike began. The late night shows immediately went on pause, and many other television productions were forced to shut down because they didn’t have completed scripts. Some writers are showing up to picket before dawn, a tactic that allows Teamsters (who’ve said they won’t cross picket lines) to drive away without delivering production equipment. The addition of thousands of actors on the picket lines would further juice both guilds’ fights with the studios. Not only will they not show up for work (what’s left of it anyway), they also likely won’t promote upcoming projects. “That’s massive, and it will impact the box office,” actor Matt Bush previously told VF. “There’s a whole ecosystem built around that as well, so there’s a trickle-down effect.”

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    Natalie Jarvey

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