November 10, 2023

2023-11-10 17:02:58

There has been a feeling of relief in Hollywood since the announcement, on Thursday, of the end of the actors’ strike that paralyzed the film and television sectors for several months, while a race began to resume filming and save films and series that were scheduled for the year 2024.

Announcement

A month and a half following an agreement was reached between screenwriters and studios in Hollywood, the actors union “SAG-AFTRA” in turn reached a three-year agreement with these studios on Wednesday.

The agreement is supposed to be officially ratified, one of its most prominent provisions is a significant increase in the minimum wage and guarantees regarding artificial intelligence. But actors can now resume filming or promoting their works.

This would revive a sector that was paralyzed for six months due to a double strike carried out by screenwriters and actors, in a historical crisis the likes of which Hollywood has not witnessed since 1960.

The agreement allows the studios to continue filming anticipated films during next summer. Filming of a number of works may be completed in the spring.

After a four-month hiatus, filming for “Deadpool 3” is scheduled to resume before Thanksgiving (end of November), according to “Variety” magazine.

Actors in postponed series, such as “Stranger Things,” expressed their relief at the end of the strike. “We won,” Noah Schnapp said on Instagram.

Jonathan Handel, a lawyer specializing in entertainment law, noted that “next year will witness a summer movie season,” despite the decline in the release of a number of films during the summer, including “Mission Impossible” by Tom Cruise.

He considered that “the situation would have been bad” if an agreement had not been reached before the end of the year holidays.

The timing of the agreement is appropriate for the Hollywood awards season, as the Academy Awards ceremony is usually held in March, while it is preceded by many parties, including the Golden Globe Awards and awards given by critics in January.

“Historic agreement”

On Thursday morning, invitations began to be sent to attend premieres of films in the presence of stars, to those who will vote on nominees for many awards, in addition to invitations to parties, including an evening for the film “My December” that will bring together Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in Los Angeles.

After boycotting cinematic events for several months, stars can now re-promote their films, including “Wonka” with star Timothée Chalamet, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” with Jason Momoa.

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Fran Drescher, president of the American Actors Guild, said, “We are really happy with the agreement.”

The star of the series “The Nanny” confirmed, “The reaching of the agreement is historic and foundational, which relieved us and made us very happy.”

In addition to increases in the salaries of the union’s 160,000 members, including actors, dancers, and workers in other cinematic and television fields, the agreement included “for the first time” a special rewards system for re-showing works via streaming broadcasting platforms.

It also stipulates that studios must obtain “the consent of actors in various matters” related to the use of artificial intelligence and to digitally cast famous actors in films.

While the total cost resulting from the cessation of the Hollywood film industry in recent months is estimated at no less than six billion dollars, the agreement was widely welcomed by American Democrats, most notably President Joe Biden, who said in a statement, “The collective bargaining succeeded.”

In Los Angeles, the entrances to most studios regained calm on Thursday morning, following they had witnessed protests and movements for six months. In front of the Warner Brothers headquarters, a group of representatives came to celebrate the agreement.

Actor Dan D. W. McCann told AFP, “I feel relieved that we can now be free from anxiety,” adding, “I hope that the agreement lives up to our expectations, and that we can turn the page on what happened and resume work.”

Additional sources • AFP

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