The American actors’ union has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios. Before the actors’ strike ends, SAG-Aftra members must now approve the text.
Will filming be able to resume in Hollywood? The actors’ union (SAG-Aftra) and the American studios reached an agreement this Wednesday, November 8. This could end a strike that has paralyzed the industry since July, when actors joined the writers’ strike, which itself began two months earlier.
The actors obtained a new three-year collective agreement, the value of which is estimated at more than $1 billion, the union said in a press release. The details of the agreement, considered to be of “extraordinary scope”, including in particular a bonus system for rebroadcasts in streaming.
If the agreement is accepted, the actors’ strike would end: concretely, the actors will return to film sets, but also participate in the promotion of upcoming films. This is particularly the reason why the release of Dune: part 2 was postponed from November to March 2024.
The writers had already ended their strike
It has been 108 days since the actors’ union was on strike to demand better remuneration, protections against the upheavals of AI and a revaluation taking into account streaming.
Before the actors, the screenwriters had also ended the strike. On September 26, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of American screenwriters, approved the agreement reached with the studios, ending a strike which began on May 2, 2023.
Thanks to this movement, screenwriters had acquired “significant gains” in terms of salaries, which notably included streaming viewing, and protections so as not to be replaced by artificial intelligence.