Hollywood Actors Reach Agreement With Studios, Streamers to End Strike
Deal, which still has to be ratified by members, would restart entertainment industry’s content engine
Striking Hollywood actors reached a tentative agreement with major studios and streamers Wednesday that could clear the way for the entertainment industry to restart its content factory after six months of labor strife.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said its TV and theatrical committee approved a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in a unanimous vote Wednesday afternoon. The strike is set to end at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
The end of the 118-day standoff means work can restart on new TV shows and films, restocking the pipeline of new fare headed to streaming platforms and the big screen. Actors can return to promoting their upcoming projects online and on the red carpet, bringing Hollywood glitz back to premieres.
The agreement follows weeks of tense negotiations between the union and the coalition representing studios and streamers such as Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery WBD -19.04%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Amazon.com.
The tentative deal “represents a new paradigm,” the coalition of studios and streamers said Wednesday. It includes the largest increase in minimum wages in 40 years, a new residual for streaming programs, and “extensive consent and compensation protections” from the use of artificial intelligence, the AMPTP said.
Terms of the actors’ agreement weren’t immediately available, though the union said the contract is valued at more than $1 billion and includes the creation of a “streaming participation bonus” as well as other wins such as “outsize compensation increases for background performers.” SAG’s national board is scheduled to review the tentative deal Nov. 10, and the union said additional details will be released following that meeting.
“We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers,” the union told members Wednesday evening.
Television and movie writers, who began picketing in May, ended their own strike against entertainment industry giants in September. The dual strikes halted production of films and TV shows such as “Stranger Things” and “Abbott Elementary,” disrupting fall TV schedules, and postponing planned releases of major motion pictures from Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two” to the next installment of “Mission: Impossible” from Paramount.
The strikes meant months without work for many of the crews, costume designers, hair stylists and others involved in productions and took a toll on the Los Angeles economy. Other states such as Georgia and New Mexico that are home to major productions also felt the pinch.
The Hollywood labor disputes were the culmination of years of frustration among writers and actors about the direction of the entertainment business amid a frenetic transition to streaming. That shift created new opportunities for talent and offered plenty of artistic freedom, but for many didn’t provide the same financial security as the traditional TV and movie businesses. Eventually, the workers decided Hollywood needed new labor rules to go with its new economics.
Among the actors’ demands were higher pay, more financial upside from shows and films that are successful on streaming platforms and protections from the use of artificial intelligence in the creative process.
As the labor dispute dragged on, major movie releases including Sony Pictures’ “Kraven the Hunter” were pushed from a 2023 release to next year. Disney’s much anticipated new take on Snow White has also been bumped to 2025 from next year.
In television, the broadcast networks have been relying on unscripted fare and acquisitions from overseas to fill the void left by the strike. CBS started to air old episodes of the Paramount Network hit “Yellowstone.”
The end of the strikes ushers in a new era for studios and streamers that were already ordering fewer TV shows and films. Many streamers are struggling with profitability and industry executives expect consolidation of studios in the coming years as well as continued price increases for subscribers.
When the writers union resolved its strike, there was broad optimism in the industry that a deal between actors and studios would be close behind.
Negotiations between the AMPTP and the actors union resumed in late September but fell apart soon after. The union’s demand for a share of streaming revenue for a bonus pool led to a stalemate with studios and the AMPTP walked away.
Some high-profile SAG members including George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Emma Stone have pressured the union’s leaders in recent weeks to come to an agreement with AMPTP that would let the industry return to work. Both sides resumed talks later in October.
The AMPTP previously indicated that if an agreement wasn’t reached by the end of October there would be little chance of salvaging a 2023 to 2024 television season.
Wednesday’s tentative deal—more than a week after that deadline—will likely result in fewer shows starting production, studio executives said. Some studios might give priority to new episodes of series already on air, while new shows might have to wait until the 2024-25 season.
The expected return to work could also create a rush on sound stages and crews, which will be a factor in determining which television shows will go into production and which ones will continue to be sidelined.