Hollywood
Actors’ strike ends after 128 days: which projects will resume after the dispute?
The actors agree to an increase in their minimum wage and regulation of artificial intelligence, among many other improvements that will be included in the new collective bargaining agreement.
Months of turmoil in Hollywood have come to an end. Weeks after screenwriters reached an agreement with the major studios, the strike by actors and actresses organized by SAG-AFTRA has ended. This has been confirmed by the union, which announced that the 128-day strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 9, although it will still have to be ratified by the unions.
“We are thrilled & proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers).” The new agreement will improve the minimum wage for workers, regulate the use of artificial intelligence, increase contributions to health and pension funds and, “for the first time”, establish residuals, the extra money that performers receive when series and movies air on platforms.
What projects will resume shooting soon?
Many productions will be unlocked once the cast returns to work. ‘Deadpool 3′, ‘Gladiator 2′, ‘Juror No.2′, ‘Beetlejuice 2′, and ‘Venom 3′ will continue shooting soon, according to Deadline’s sources. ‘Minecraft’ will follow in early 2024 and ‘Mortal Kombat 2′ before 2024. Additionally, ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 is expected to resume filming in the coming weeks, and what about ‘Superman Legacy’? The idea is to start filming in March 2024.
Negotiations resumed on October 2 with the heads of Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, and NBCUniversal Studio Group in attendance, although the studios walked out in anger after hearing SAG-AFTRA’s proposal to charge a premium for each new subscriber on the platforms. Two weeks later, on October 24, the two sides sat down again with a more palatable proposal from the studio representatives. However, it was not until this past Saturday that the final offer was outlined and crystallized.
“I’m elated,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told Deadline. “It’s been, as you know, a long summer in this town and it’s an industry that really needs to get back to work and wants to get back to work. I’m gonna be one of those people that’s just cheering the return to production in this community.”
The dispute began last July, when the previous contract expired. Since then, actors and actresses have been on a war footing, paralyzing production in the United States. Series such as House of the Dragon, produced by HBO, were spared the strike because they rely on British unions rather than SAG-AFTRA.