In a recent development, SAG-AFTRA has announced an adjustment to its interim agreement policy.
In a memo released on its official website on Monday, the actors' guild shared that it will now exclude projects produced in the United States, featuring scripts authored by Writers Guild of America (WGA) members, from being considered for production during the ongoing strike under its interim agreement.
It's essential to note that this change will not affect projects covered by the Writers Guild of America that have already received approval for interim agreements. However, the guild emphasizes that this new policy will be implemented exclusively for upcoming projects.
The memo also highlighted ongoing conversations between SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America concerning aligning their strategies. The intention is to ensure that the Interim Agreement strategy complements the strike's objectives organized by the Writers Guild. As the memo stated, the current strike strategy of the Writers Guild does not encompass the proposal of any Interim Agreements.
The collaboration between the two guilds has led to the conclusion that the alteration in policy will contribute to the successful execution of the Writers Guild's strike strategy. Simultaneously, SAG-AFTRA believes that this change upholds the efficacy and value of its strategy. This cooperative approach is deemed a mutually beneficial adjustment.
Since the commencement of the SAG-AFTRA strike a month ago, more than 100 independent productions have secured interim agreements. Notable among these are the separate Christian series “The Chosen” and Neon's “Ferrari.” The latter production, already completed, has now received the green light for its cast to promote the film at prominent events such as the Venice Film Festival premiere and the New York Film Festival closing night screening.
To apply for an interim agreement, productions must accept all the terms laid out by SAG-AFTRA to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. A memo dispatched last week by SAG-AFTRA underscored that these agreements open up employment opportunities for their working-class members—additionally, the note aimed to dispel the notion that the terms proposed to the AMPTP are unattainable.
As guild president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland conveyed in the memo, the successful agreement of these terms by independent productions underscores the viability of these terms and why billion- and trillion-dollar companies should find them equally feasible.
