After 118 days, the SAG-AFTRA actors strike is finally over, and Hollywood can get back to work.
Studios and union reps reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday, meaning the strike ended at 12:01 a.m. PT on Thursday and production can start up again within the next few weeks, per Deadline.
Specific details still aren’t being shared with the public. More information will likely become available Friday when the agreement reaches the board, the publication noted. The strike is ending a little less than a month after the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) ratified its three-year contract with the studios after being on strike earlier this year.
Major studio reps most recently submitted their so-called “last, best, and final offer” to the union. Major concerns addressed included wage increases, bonuses, and AI (artificial intelligence) protections, which were similar to the items addressed in the WGA contract.
If the board signs the deal later this week, then it will move to the 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members, who will vote on whether to ratify the agreement. Then everyone can get back to work as usual. Studios were eager to end the strike in early November, hoping to avoid extensively delaying shows and films slated for 2024 and 2025.
The actors strike began on July 14. It is estimated to have cost Southern California more than $6.5 billion and 45,000 entertainment industry jobs, Deadline noted.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher reacted positively to the news.
“We did it!!!!” the former star of “The Nanny” wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “The Billion+ $ Deal! 3X the last contract! New ground was broke everywhere!”
Drescher went on to thank union members “for hanging in and holding out for this historic deal.”
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Actors Harris Dickinson and Zac Efron were told the news while walking the red carpet for the premiere of the movie, “The Iron Claw.” Their reactions were recorded in real-time.
“You’re joking, don’t tell me that now,” Dickinson told a reporter from Deadline. The actor then moved as if he was leaving the premiere. “Let’s get out of here and get back to work,” he said.
“Let’s go!” Efron said.
“The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White was also told at the “Iron Claw” premiere event. “That’s amazing,” the actor said. “It makes me feel incredible. I don’t know the details of the deal but I’m sure that SAG got what we wanted, what they wanted.”
“I’m just so glad that the industry can start up again, it’s exciting for sure,” White continued.