The union representing 160,000 actors agreed on Friday in extremis to extend negotiations with Hollywood studios until July 12, thus avoiding a strike for the time being.
The collective bargaining agreement for the 160,000 actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) expired at midnight Los Angeles time, but it has been extended until July 12 at midnight, the union said in a statement.
He further specified that a media embargo on the negotiations remained in effect until that date.
SAG-AFTRA entered lengthy negotiations with companies like Netflix and Disney, but as the midnight deadline approached, both sides indicated they would continue to negotiate.
The profession feared that the actors would join the scriptwriters on strike, a double social movement which would be unprecedented in Hollywood since 1960, and which could bring the industry to its knees.
SAG-AFTRA members — from stars to extras — pre-approved for action if the negotiating parties failed to reach an agreement.
Like the screenwriters, the actors are demanding better remuneration to fight against inflation and guarantees in the face of potential upheavals linked to the use of artificial intelligence, such as voice cloning.
They protest in particular against the drop in their “residual” remuneration, due to each rerun of a film or series, caused by streaming platforms.
Consequent during a televised passage, because based on the advertising model, these emoluments are much lower for the platforms, which do not communicate their audience figures.
“Residual income is our livelihood between projects,” said Shon Lange, an actor who has had small roles in shows like The Terminal List. They “put food on the table, they send my child to school. So it’s very important. »
Actors can freeze not only productions based on scripts already completed before May, but also promotion of blockbusters due in theaters this summer Barbie, Oppenheimer, Gran Turismo, etc., or even postpone the holding in September of the Emmy Awards, equivalent to the television Oscars.
This week, hundreds of famous actors, including Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, signed a letter insisting they must strike unless their union reaches a “transformative deal”.
According to this document, the American film industry is at an “unprecedented inflection point”.
“We need to modernize our contracts in the face of new technologies,” Kim Donovan told Agence France-Presse.
Worried about the potential impact of artificial intelligence, this 52-year-old actress hopes to see celebrities really get involved in the event of a strike. “They have the strongest voices, we need their support. »