Actors and studios strike a tentative 4-year deal, easing fears of another Hollywood shutdown

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Union board members representing television and movie actors are set this week to review a tentative contract deal with studios and streaming services. While an agreement was announced Saturday, it still must be approved by the board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, then ratified by a member vote. If both those things happen — as they're expected to — the industry will avoid a repeat of the 2023 actor and writer strikes that seriously shook the entertainment industry. This year's negotiations were drama-free, and more strikes never really appeared to be in the cards. The tentative deal was announced in a joint statement from SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents a coalition of Hollywood's major studios, streamers and production companies. The statement said no details would be made public until the union's board has had a chance to review them. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the agreement was for a four-year contract instead of the long-standard three. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The union's main priorities going into talks included bolstering protections against the use of artificial intelligence creating synthetic performers or recreating likenesses of real actors. Also on the actors' agenda was securing improved long-term payments for re-aired shows, known in the industry as residuals. In an interview with the AP shortly before talks began, actor and SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said the union had to fight to protect the gains made in the strike. "There is no going back," he said. Astin said the studios were "sending signals of wanting stability, of wanting to work as partners." The studios also appeared cautiously optimistic that a fair deal would be reached. It took about six weeks of talks for the two sides to reach the agreement. The negotiations began Feb. 9 but were interrupted while studios took a break from the actors' talks to negotiate with writers, who also reached a four-year agreement instead of their usual three-year deal. The current SAG-AFTRA contract is set to expire June 30. Even in years without strikes, negotiations often come up to the brink or even go past the deadline. With the actor talks completed, AMPTP negotiators are free to begin contract talks with the Directors Guild, the first under new president Christopher Nolan. Those are set to begin May 11.