Explainer-Is the Hollywood actors’ strike over?
2023.12.06 07:32
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line during their ongoing strike outside Sony Studios in Culver City, California, U.S. September 29, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
(Reuters) -Hollywood actors on Tuesday approved a three-year contract with major studios and streamers, formally ending the six months of labor disputes that had brought the industry to a standstill.
Members of the SAG-AFTRA union had already returned to work in November after a preliminary deal that offered higher pay and protections against unauthorized use of images generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
HOW MANY MEMBERS VOTED FOR THE DEAL?
The union said 78% of those who voted supported the deal with Netflix (NASDAQ:) Walt Disney (NYSE:) and other members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
However, just 38% of eligible members cast a ballot, according to the union, which represents roughly 160,000 film and TV actors.
SAG-AFTRA had called off the strike on the midnight of Nov. 9, months after a separate strike by the screenwriters’ union ended a $233 million-per-year deal with the studios.
WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE ACTORS’ DEAL?
Union leaders said the contract amounts to more than $1 billion over three years and includes guardrails around the use of AI in filmmaking, though some actors complained that the protections were not sufficient.
Under the deal, streamers will pay bonuses of roughly $40 million a year, of which 75% will go to actors on the most popular streaming shows and the rest will go to a fund that will be distributed to actors on other streaming shows.
It also includes higher pay as well as pension and health benefits.
WHEN WILL TV SHOWS AND MOVIES RETURN?
Hollywood has already resumed production on some of its delayed projects and started working on new shows since both strikes have ended.
This could mean that films like “Gladiator 2” and “Ghostbusters” and the latest seasons of shows like “Billions”, “Stranger Things” and “Abbott Elementary”, which were delayed due to the walkout, can get back on track.
But viewers will have to wait a bit longer for major productions like the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and Disney’s live-action remake of animated classic “Snow White”, which were delayed until 2025.
