The Hollywood actors\' strike that shut down film and television production for seven months ended Tuesday night after SAG-AFTRA and the major studios reached a landmark agreement that grants actors unprecedented protections against artificial intelligence, a 35 percent pay raise over four years, and new residual structures for streaming platforms — a deal that the union is calling the most significant in its 93-year history.
The deal ends seven months of strikes that shut down film and TV production across Hollywood. Photo: Unsplash
The agreement, reached after 72 hours of continuous negotiations mediated by a federal labor commissioner, was ratified by union leadership Tuesday evening and will now go to a full membership vote. SAG-AFTRA president Jennifer Caldwell said the union achieved every one of its core demands and that the deal will protect actors\' identities, likenesses, and livelihoods for generations to come.
The AI Provisions
The AI protections are the most closely watched element of the deal and set precedents that labor experts say will ripple across industries far beyond entertainment. Studios are prohibited from creating digital replicas of actors without explicit written consent for each specific use, a provision that directly addresses the practice of using AI to recreate deceased actors or generate performances without hiring living performers.
Actors must be compensated at their full rate for any AI-generated work that uses their likeness, voice, or performance style, even if no human performance is captured on any given day of production. Studios must disclose in advance when AI tools will be used in a production and must provide actors with detailed information about how their digital likeness may be used.
The AI provisions in the deal set precedents that labor experts say will affect industries beyond entertainment. Photo: Unsplash
The Economic Terms
Beyond AI, the economic terms of the deal are substantial. The 35 percent pay increase is spread over four years and applies to minimum rates for all categories of performers. Streaming residuals — long a source of grievance because platforms historically paid little or nothing in residuals compared to broadcast television — will now be calculated based on a formula tied to the number of subscribers who watch a given title.
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