US actors union agrees deal to end longest strike in Hollywood history | Ents & Arts News

US actors union Sag-Aftra has agreed a “tentative deal” with Hollywood studio bosses to end a historic 118-day strike.

The union said the longest walkout in its history will end at 12.01am US Pacific time on Thursday following a “unanimous vote”.

The union, which represents around 160,000 members of the industry, has been on strike since July 14 causing major disruption to Hollywood productions.

The deal comes after the union’s negotiating committee spent days deliberating over several items it deemed “essential”, including artificial intelligence.

It followed a “last, best and final” offer from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – the group representing studios, streaming services and producers in negotiations.

The tentative deal will go to the Sag-Aftra national board on Friday “for review and consideration”, the union announced.

However, a statement from the union said it has achieved a deal of “extraordinary scope” in a contract “valued at over one billion dollars”, including protection from the threat of artificial intelligence and “unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation”.

It continued: “We have arrived at a contract that will enable Sag-Aftra members from every category to build sustainable careers, many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.”

Meanwhile the AMPTP said the tentative agreement “represents a new paradigm”.

It said: “It gives Sag-Aftra the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last 40 years; a brand new residual for streaming programmes; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizeable contract increases on items across the board.”

It comes weeks after the union confirmed industry chief executives had “walked away from the bargaining table” after refusing to counter its latest offer, sparking “profound disappointment”.

Hollywood has been at a near-standstill for months following both the actors and writers strikes.

In September the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents more than 11,000 members, agreed to a deal with studio bosses after 146 days on the picket line over issues of pay and the threat of artificial intelligence.

Throughout the strikes, Hollywood stars including Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis, US director Olivia Wilde, and Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis have been keen to show their solidarity on the picket line.

On Instagram, Curtis wrote: “Perseverance pays off!” following news that a deal had been made.