Credit: USA TodayAs of midnight P.T. last night, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) failed to come to a contract agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) after extending negotiations by two weeks, leading the union to a long-threatened strike.
It’s a momentous occasion for Hollywood as SAG-AFTRA joins the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for a double industry strike for the first time in decades. The writers strike has been ongoing since the beginning of May, as they fight for increased wages, increased streaming residuals, and fight against AI being used the industry. When negotiations with SAG began in June, many of their fighting points were the same and the union voted for a strike authorization early in negotiations.
In an effort to try and reach an agreement, executives from Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, and Apple got together earlier this week to ask for a federal moderator and to try and offer assistance to SAG leadership. It wasn’t enough to make any progress in discussions, and the contract officially expired last night. Not only does this halt dozens of productions that were working through the WGA strike, it further delays anything that had already been pushed back, and means that actors wouldn’t be allowed to promote films releasing during this time.
It was a surprising effort by the studios to try and barter with SAG, but as the clock wound down, it was revealed that the AMPTP has no intention of talking with the WGA until later this year. It’s a deliberate move with the hopes that as writers run out of money, they’ll “lose their apartments and their houses” and will be more willing to acquiesce to a contract that favors the AMPTP. It’s possible that this news further pushed the actors strike to fruition.
Either way, SAG now seems poised to join the WGA on the picket lines, fighting for better working conditions and the promise that their jobs are secure against the threat of artificial intelligence or posthumous film roles generated by AI technology. The industry has not faced a double strike since 1960 when both the writers and actors walked out, eventually winning the fight for residuals for television shows and films sold to TV networks.
Since the last major industry strike by the WGA in 2007, streaming has become a major player in film and television, changing the industry and the way people both create and consume content. Especially since the 2020 pandemic, when it seems as though everyone turned to streaming services and every major studio or network created their own streaming service. With both Guilds on strike, fighting for the same reasons, it could significantly shake up Hollywood.
The writers now have official support from over 160,000 SAG members, and the actors have seasoned picketers ready to show them how it’s done. Prepare to settle in with some reruns or a good book, because this may take a while.
Productions Now Halted by SAG Strike
- Gladiator 2
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Wicked
- Beetlejuice 2
- Speak No Evil
- Deadpool 3
- Andor Season 2
- White Lotus Season 3
- Emily in Paris Season 4
- Doctor Who Season 15