Good morning. It's Friday, Nov. 10. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Hollywood is getting back to work
As of Thursday, union actors in L.A. and across the country packed up their picket signs, marking the end of a 118-day strike after their leaders agreed to a new contract with the alliance representing major Hollywood studios.
Representatives from SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached a deal late Wednesday after months of contentious negotiations. The strike, along with one by Hollywood writers that began earlier (and ended in September) brought much of the Hollywood entertainment machine to a standstill.
"We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers," union officials wrote in a thread on Twitter-turned-X. "Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work."
So what's in the deal? The announcement is light on details, pending review by the SAG-AFTRA National Board. The union painted some broad strokes in its celebratory thread, saying the new contract will include:
- "Above-pattern" minimum compensation increases
- "Unprecedented provisions … that will protect members from the threat of AI"
- A new "streaming participation bonus"
- "Substantially raised" caps on union pension and health plans
- Pay raises for background performers
- "Critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities"
"It's certainly not perfect for anybody," SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told The Times. "Any good negotiation, both parties come out of it feeling like they didn't get everything they wanted. But I think we did get everything we needed and then some. And I think that is going to be the legacy of this negotiation."
The union's demands had included higher minimum pay, increased residuals for streaming shows, improved health benefits and well-defined protections against artificial intelligence's use in filmmaking.
On the flip side, the AMPTP released a statement calling the agreement a historic "new paradigm."
"The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories," the statement concluded.
How will resuming that work look? The agreement still needs to be ratified through a vote by SAG-AFTRA's 160,000 members before it's official, but as of yesterday morning, actors can return to work on film and TV productions and resume promotional work on new movies and TV show seasons.
But as actor, comedian and strike captain Elyssa Phillips explained to Times reporter Christi Carras, getting back to work will look vastly different for established actors versus those who were already struggling before the work stoppage.
"The people who wait tables will still be waiting tables," Phillips said. "They just may have auditions after work. But I've never been so excited to audition in my entire life."
Actors had been on strike since mid-July after months of failed negotiations with the major studios.
While Hollywood actors (and recently writers) are now able to get back to work, Times culture columnist Mary McNamara writes that the long-term damage from the historic strikes is far from over.
"The true economic impact won't be known for some time, but early estimates as to what the combined strikes have cost the California economy hover at more than $6 billion," Mary wrote, noting that the number of people who found themselves out of work for months extended well beyond just actors and writers.
"How many talented people did the entertainment industry lose when the studios seemed to go out of their way to make it clear that writers and actors — and, by extension, everyone else who makes film and television — were not worth the trouble of coming up with a fair deal in time to avoid the strikes?"
Times reporters have been diligently covering the Hollywood strikes. You can explore more of their reporting on our website.
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