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SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA strike
Matthew Belloni • June 20, 2024

‘L.A. Is a Much-Better-Weather Version of Detroit Right Now’

So says Scott Galloway, the business school professor and podcaster as he unloads on Hollywood in decline—why its unions “have their heads up their ass,” the urgent A.I. threat (“Try to shut them down”), and an entertainment industry he sees as “arrogant:” “You’re subject to the same economics as the rest of us, folks,” as he puts it.
Jonathan Handel • December 21, 2023
2023: A Hollywood Labor Odyssey
SAG-AFTRA members chant outside Paramount Studios on day 118 of their strike against the Hollywood studios on November 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
What did we learn from a tumultuous 2023? As an extraordinarily challenged year sunsets, here are five takeaways.
Matthew Belloni • November 26, 2023
Final Strike Jitters, Disney Blame Game & A Shari-Ellison Scenario
Producer David Ellison attends the Royal Film Performance and U.K. Premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London.
A special Thanksgiving mailbag answering the town’s most burning questions, including what happens if SAG-AFTRA rejects its deal, an odd funeral no-show, and what to do with all the antisemitism around Hollywood.
Jonathan Handel • November 20, 2023
A Quick Fix for (Some of) the Actors’ A.I. Contract Fears
SAG-AFTRA can take some control of the playing field by issuing its own consent forms for digital replicas.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher speaks as SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland looks on at a press conference discussing their strike-ending deal with the Hollywood studios on November 10, 2023, in Los Angeles.
Jonathan Handel • November 16, 2023
Are Actors Overthinking the A.I. Threat?
A close look at the three primary concerns raised by SAG-AFTRA members regarding how “synthetic performers” and other computer-generated replacements could threaten their livelihoods.
The 16 pages of contract language surrounding A.I. are by far the most intricate provisions in the new agreement.
Jonathan Handel • November 13, 2023
What the Actors Really Won on A.I.
A detailed look at the tentative SAG-AFTRA deal, from streaming residuals to health benefits to the extraordinary restrictions on the use of A.I.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (C) raises his fist while speaking at the conclusion of picketing outside Paramount Studios on day 113 of their strike against the Hollywood studios on November 3, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • November 10, 2023
Are There Still More Strikes Ahead?
Hollywood is rejoicing after an awful six months, but as 2024 negotiations loom, will C.E.O.s take the high road?
SAG-AFTRA is expected to respond or counter the offer as early as Monday.
Jonathan Handel • November 6, 2023
What’s Holding Up an Actors’ Strike Deal
An inside look at the negotiations surrounding the A.I. issue and others that are preventing the SAG-AFTRA strike from (finally) coming to an end.
Matthew Belloni • November 3, 2023
Hollywood’s Post-Strike Hellscape
What should be a time of relief and celebration as the SAG-AFTRA negotiations near their end is more akin to what soldiers experience in countless war movies—the horrors of battle are giving way to the equally grim reality of the new world for which they fought.
The SAG-AFTRA proposal that president Fran Drescher says she won’t back down from is also flawed.
Jonathan Handel • October 23, 2023
A 10-Point Plan to Finally Resolve the Actors Strike
With SAG-AFTRA and studios set to restart negotiations, it's time to get real: the union should drop its insistence on a per-subscriber payment and instead propose a supercharged version of the “success” bonus that the Writers Guild achieved.