Hollywood actors’ strike ends as tentative deal reached with studios

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has called an end to the actors’ strike that first began in July. The strike now comes to an end at 118 days, the longest in SAG-AFTRA’s 90-year history.

SAG-AFTRA took to social media to announce the end of the strike, writing: “Our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended & all picket locations are closed.”

SAG-AFTRA also notes that the agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) comes with a three-year contract “valued at over one billion dollars” that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, “unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI”, a streaming participation bonus and more.

However, SAG-AFTRA has also noted that the “full details of the agreement will not be provided until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board,” which would take days.

The SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike began on 13 July following a break down in negotiations between the AMPTP and the SAG-AFTRA over the union’s demands for protection against the threat of AI, fair compensation and more. The July strike coincided with the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) writers strike that began in May and ended in late September. It marked the first time in 60 years that both unions were on strike at the same time.

Hollywood has been at a near-standstill for months following both the actors and writers strikes. Theyhave caused major disruption, with several productions put on hold, including Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Disney/Marvel’s Blade, Dune: Part Two, Fantastic Four, Disney’s live action Moana, Paddington in Peru, and recently, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two – to name but a few.

As well as film delays, Hollywood stars have also not been attending events such as film premieres while the strike has been taking place, as union rules prohibit them from taking any work, including promotion or publicity for projects.

Now with SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP having reached a tentative agreement, the long-stalled beginning of Oscar campaign season for the many actors finally can begin. Until now, the campaigns largely have been fronted by directors, craftspeople and, more recently with the end of the WGA strike, writers.