LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood writers have voted almost unanimously to approve the contract agreement reached by their union leaders that ended a strike after nearly five months, while actors remain in negotiations to find a way out of their own strike.

The Writers Guild of America announced Monday that 99% of the 8,525 members who cast ballots voted to ratify the deal.

The agreement was widely touted as a win by leaders, and widely praised by members, with major gains in payment, size of show staffs and control of artificial intelligence in scripts. The result of the vote taken over the past week was never really in doubt.

“Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago,” Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA-East, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, nearly three months after their strike began, leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists were back in contract negotiations with studios on Monday, a week after talks restarted.

Unlike the marathon night-and-weekend sessions that brought an end to the writers strike, the actors and their employers are moving more methodically in their talks, and it was not clear how much progress was being made.

Writers guild leaders urged studios to grant actors’ demands and said their members would picket alongside them until a deal was reached.

The writers’ new contract runs thorough May 1, 2026, three years after their previous contract expired and they went on strike. After negotiations that saw direct involvement from the chiefs of Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, a tentative deal was struck on Sept. 24. Two days later, when the board members voted to approve the agreement and send it to members, the strike was declared over and writers were released to work.

They began almost immediately, with late-night talk shows back on the air within a week and other shows, including “Saturday Night Live,” soon to follow.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in strike talks, congratulated writers for their vote, saying in a statement that the contract “represents meaningful gains and protections for writers” and that it “is important progress for our industry that writers are back to work.”

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Hollywood writers vote to approve contract deal that ended strike as actors negotiate appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The actors and writers strikes have resulted in most Hollywood film and television productions being shut down, from the “Gladiator” sequel to the live action “Lilo & Stitch.” But some independent films and television productions are are still filming after reaching agreements with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists that will allow them to continue with union actors amid the strike.

It’s a move that the union leadership says is an essential negotiating tactic, but that’s also proved divisive and confusing to many sweating it out on the picket lines while movie stars like Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey continue to work.

Here’s what to know about the “interim agreements” that are keeping some Hollywood productions filming.

WHAT FALLS UNDER THE INTERIM AGREEMENTS?

Actors are striking against studios and streaming services that bargain as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The group’s ranks include the major film studios (Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.), television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon.

There are numerous independent production companies that aren’t affiliated with the AMPTP, and they are allowed to film with SAG-AFTRA actors during the strike. They must agree to terms that the union last proposed during negotiations, which includes a new minimum wage rate that’s 11% higher than before, guarantees about revenue sharing and artificial intelligence protections.

Those terms were rejected by the studios and streaming services, but SAG-AFTRA realized that some independent producers and smaller film studios (like Neon and A24) were willing to agree to the terms if it meant they could keep filming.

“The interim agreement provides empirical proof that the terms that we have put on the table with the AMPTP are not only realistic, but are actually desirable and usable by producers in this industry,” SAG-AFTRA executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said.

WHAT ABOUT THE WRITERS?

The Writers’ Guild of America has opted not to grant similar agreements in their own strike. In an attempt to show solidarity and sync strategy, SAG-AFTRA changed course Monday and said interim agreements would not be granted to productions that were covered by the WGA contract.

WGA films and shows include about 15 to 20% of the productions granted the agreements before the switch, and those will not be revoked, but no new ones will be granted.

“We have been advised by the WGA that this modification will assist them in executing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “It is a win-win change.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PRODUCTIONS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE?

More than 200 productions have been approved so far, including a Rebel Wilson comedy “Bride Hard,” an untitled Guy Ritchie project, a film with Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd called “Death of a Unicorn,” the Matthew McConaughey thriller “The Rivals of the Amziah King” and David Lowery’s pop star movie “Mother Mary,” starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

The list is being constantly updated on SAG-AFTRA’s website, but even some productions that have been granted exceptions are still pausing for optics and solidarity. Viola Davis decided to step away from her film “G20,” in which she plays the U.S. president at a G20 Summit overtaken by terrorists, despite it being granted a waiver.

“I love this movie but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” Davis said in a statement. “G20” though independently financed, was set to be distributed by Amazon Studios, which is an AMPTP member.

WHAT IS SAG-AFTRA’S STRATEGY?

Crabtree-Ireland said there are several benefits of the interim agreement to SAG-AFTRA members.

“It provides absolute empirical proof that the terms that we are seeking in the negotiation are reasonable,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “We have hundreds of independent producers who say we’ll be happy to produce under those terms.”

It also provides opportunities for crews and actors to work, relieving some of the financial pressures of the strike. And, he added, it might be getting the attention of studios.

Emmy-winning “Abbott Elementary” actor Sheryl Lee Ralph agrees with the strategy.

“I have to honestly say interim agreements are smart agreements. What that does is keep little conversations going with producers who are not the big major producers,” she told the AP. “So now the big folks can look and say, ‘Well, wait a minute, if they can do it, why aren’t we doing it.’”

WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?

To some members sweating it out on the picket lines and pinching pennies, it doesn’t feel like a united work stoppage when major celebrities like Hathaway and McConaughey get to still make movies.

Comedian Sarah Silverman was one who was especially irked about the loophole and posted her thoughts in an Instagram video. After meeting with SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and Crabtree-Ireland, she walked back her outrage and said both sides better understood the waivers could be a positive and a negative.

“I do understand that some members feel like it creates a confusing message or that it makes it not as clear of a line,” Crabtree-Ireland conceded. But he added that “we’re all very clear on the fact that AMPTP companies are the companies we’re on strike against.”

WHAT HAPPENS IF AN AMPTP COMPANY BUYS THE FILM FOR DISTRIBUTION?

Some of the productions from smaller studios, like A24 and Neon, have their own distribution arms that can get films out into the world. But others don’t. They often sell to AMPTP companies who ultimately put them into theaters or on their streaming services. “G20” is a prime example of this, having already had a deal in place with Amazon to distribute.

Crabtree-Ireland said it’s “a concern” but also a “reality we accept as a possibility” that one of these independent films will sell to, say, Netflix. He sees a possible upside if this happens though, as the interim agreement includes a streaming revenue share proposal.

And he said that any company that acquires an interim-agreement film at the upcoming slate of fall festivals like Venice, Telluride and Toronto — key places where an AMPTP studio might acquire such a project — will have to pay performers the residuals the contract requires.

WHAT ABOUT ACTORS PROMOTING COMPLETED PROJECTS?

SAG-AFTRA is reviewing applications that would allow talent to promote independent films at the fall festivals, which are going forward with many high-profile world premieres regardless of actor availability.

Luc Besson’s “DogMan,” debuting at Venice, was recently granted an interim agreement allowing its stars, like Caleb Landry Jones, to help promote the film through red carpet appearances and interviews. Other independent films headed to Venice include Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” with Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” with Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, Ava DuVernay’s “Origin,” Michel Franco’s “Memory,” with Jessica Chastain and Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” with Glen Powell, all of which could, theoretically be granted the special status.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Why are actors making movies during the strike? What to know about SAG-AFTRA’s ‘interim agreements’ appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Kravits gets a lot of this: People recognize him – they’re just not sure how. “I’m that guy who looks like the guy you went to high school with,” says Kravits. “People think they’ve just seen me somewhere.”

Actually, they have — on TV, usually as a lawyer, or a doctor. “I’ve had enough roles that I’ve been in your living room on any given night,” the veteran actor says. “But mostly people don’t know my name.”

Kravits is one of those actors union leaders refer to as “journeymen” — who tend to work for scale pay, and spend at least as much time lining up work as working. They can have a great year, then a bad one, without much rhyme or reason. “We’re always on the verge of struggling,” says Kravits.

And they, not the big Hollywood names joining the picket lines, are the heart of the actors’ strike.

Many say they fear the general public thinks all actors get paid handsomely and are doing it for love of the craft, almost as a hobby. Yet in most cases it’s their only job, and they need to qualify for health insurance, pay rents or mortgages, pay for school and college for their kids.

“All of us aren’t Tom Cruise,” says Amari Dejoie, 30, who studies acting, does background jobs (as an extra) and modeling to keep afloat, and is considering waitressing during the strike. “We have to pay rent and bills, and they’re due on the first. And your apartment does not care that your check wasn’t as high as you expected it to be.”

In interviews, a few journeyman actors at different stages of their careers discussed their lives and their reasons for striking:

THAT ONE-PENNY CHECK

Recently Jennifer Van Dyck got a couple residual checks in the mail — one for 60 cents, one for 72 cents. But she’s seen worse. “The joke is when you get the one-cent check that cost 44 cents to be mailed to you,” says the veteran New York actor.

Still, Van Dyck counts herself lucky. With many appearances on network shows like “The Blacklist,” “Madam Secretary” and especially ”Law & Order,” where she’s appeared as a guest star 13 times, plus voiceover work, she’s been able to make a living for more than 30 years without having to take a job outside the industry.

“You just keep jumping around,” she says. “When things get dry in one area you move to the next. It’s keeping all the balls in the air: theater, film, television, voiceover, audiobooks. Call us journeypeople: Half the job requirement is looking for work.”

Van Dyck says the emergence of streaming has cut into an actor’s income alarmingly, because streamers give tiny residuals, if that. And when it comes to negotiating a rate to appear on a show, the studios don’t seem to care if you have 37 years of experience. “They say, “This is what we’re offering, take it or leave it.’”

.She’s still struck by the common misperception that actors must be rich and famous. “The majority of us aren’t,” she says. “But all those other parts (in a hit show), and all those other shows that get sidelined or disappear — that’s work, too. And those stories can’t be told without (us).”

“No one wants to strike,” Van Dyck adds. But she feels the industry is at an inflection point. And, “at a certain point you have to say, ‘No Mas.’”

___

THIS IS NOT A HOBBY

Growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, Kravits was bitten by the theater bug early, performing in community theater by the time he was 10 or 11. He studied theater in college, and eventually made his way to New York and then Los Angeles.

In LA, he got lucky, winning a recurring role on David E. Kelley’s “The Practice.”

Kravits quips he’d make a lot more money as an actual lawyer, but enjoys playing them. “I like to say I play a lot of lawyers, but never the same lawyer. I play a mean lawyer, a dumb lawyer, a funny lawyer, a hateful lawyer, an incompetent lawyer. Every role is different to me.” Most of the time, he’s on a show for one or two episodes.

Kravits says there used to be room for negotiation on everything, including billing and dressing rooms, but no longer: “You’re negotiating with Wall Street. And Wall Street is all bottom line.”

The toughest change has been with the all-important residuals. “I don’t think people realize outside the business how important residuals are to being able to afford being an actor,” he says.

And because of how meager streaming residuals are, Kravits says he has network shows he did 10, 15 even 20 years ago that still yield more residuals than buzzy shows he’s done for streamers the last few years — like HBO’s “The Undoing” or Netflix’s “Halston.”

“I didn’t get into this as a hobby,” Kravits says. “I can’t afford to do it as a hobby.”

___

PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTHS ARE

The series finale of the show that transformed actor Diany Rodriguez’s career – NBC’s “The Blacklist” – aired the same day Hollywood came to a standstill.

Rodriguez, who played Weecha, bodyguard of star James Spader’s character, would have loved to take to social media and celebrate her character’s final appearance, but the strike made that impossible. She had several new projects booked, but is now throwing herself into her duties as a strike captain.

She sees the strike as part of a larger labor movement in the country: “I’m so in favor of this because it feels overwhelmingly (like) we are ready to put our money where our mouths are for the greater good.”

Rodriguez, 41, was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Alabama, and moved from New York to Atlanta in 2009 for theater work. Around that time, Georgia lawmakers passed generous film tax credits — incentives that brought in business but ensured a lengthy strike would be acutely felt there.

“Atlanta’s economy is funded in large part based on the film and TV tax breaks,” she says.

Rodriguez feels financially secure, thanks largely to her two-season stint on “The Blacklist,” the network residuals and the roles the show has helped her book since then.

But she says she could easily have been in the same situation as so many of her fellow actors who are on the verge of losing their health coverage, unable to earn enough in recent months to be eligible for SAG-AFTRA insurance plans.

—-

WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR ACTING?

Amari Dejoie’s father didn’t want her to follow him into the entertainment business. “They never do,” she quips.

But Dejoie, growing up in Los Angeles, got the bug, and started pursuing acting and modeling at 17. Now 30, she studies acting, paying $400 a month for classes, and takes whatever side jobs she can, including working as an extra on sets. She’s appeared in music videos, and at events as a booth model. She’s considering a waitress job to tide her over during the strike.

“My dad was part of SAG back in the day and his residuals paid for a home,” says Dejoie, who was manning the picket lines in Los Angeles last week. “It’s the same business, and (yet) it’s completely different now.”

Her father, Vincent Cook, was a boxing double for Will Smith on “Ali,” and had a role in “B.A.P.S.,” with Halle Berry. “He was not a main character, but his residuals were great and they still are,” Dejoie says, nothing that recently, after undergoing a medical issue, he discovered that SAG had a check waiting for him. “If it’s up to the studio, they’re not going to hunt you down to pay you. SAG will,” Dejoie says.

Dejoie also is concerned about how artificial intelligence will affect the industry and her work as an extra, where she makes about $150 a day to be available for background shots. Actors fear studios want to scan their images and use them repeatedly after paying for just one day of work.

“Also, if I’m not present on the set, I’m not there making connections for other jobs,” Dejoie says.

More broadly, the idea of actors’ images being replicated artificially makes her afraid for the future of the industry she is just getting started in.

“What will this mean for acting?” she says. “Did I just spend all this time and money for a craft that will one day be obsolete?”

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post They’re the names you don’t know. Hollywood’s ‘journeyman’ actors explain why they are striking appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.