SAG-AFTRA to Exclude Writers Guild-Covered Projects Produced in U.S. From Interim Agreement Eligibility – Hollywood Reporter

THR Illustration / Michael Buckner

SAG-AFTRA is making a significant change to its practice of offering interim agreements during its 2023 strike.

Moving forward, the performers’ union will not be offering these deals to titles covered by a Writers Guild of America contract that are also produced in the U.S., SAG-AFTRA negotiations leaders told members on Monday. The move came after “several productive and collaborative meetings” with the writers’ group, which is also currently on strike and not offering interim deals during their own work stoppage.

“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. It is a win-win change,” the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee said in the message.

The union did not state that any interim agreements already offered to such projects would be rescinded; rather, “going forward,” this would be the union’s policy. The negotiating committee added, “Our staff will continue to investigate each application for an Interim Agreement to ensure only true independent productions are included.”

Interim agreements have been the subject of some controversy since they were introduced amid SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing work stoppage. Intended to offer options to titles produced outside the jurisdiction of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, these interim agreements allow production to continue on such projects if a host of SAG-AFTRA priorities in the 2023 negotiations are agreed to — such as an 11 percent increase in minimum wages and revenue sharing for casts of streaming projects.

Comedian and SAG-AFTRA member Sarah Silverman has criticized these agreements, given that projects made under these terms could ultimately be sold to AMPTP member companies. Already, a handful of titles with ties to such companies — such as the Apple TV+-distributed Tehran, which is shot in Greece and produced by an Israeli company — have been deemed to qualify at least in part due to international laws on striking.

SAG-AFTRA has since justified the use of these agreements, calling them a “vital part of our strategic approach” and designed to “undermine the production slates and timing of the AMPTP companies and ensure that they come back to the table.” The union also wants to offer employment opportunities to “journeymen” members and crew members who belong to other unions and to deter an industry turn to non-union foreign productions.

So far, over 200 productions have secured these deals, according to the union’s latest list, including A24’s Death of a Unicorn and Mother Mary, starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega and Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway, respectively. The faith-based series The Chosen has also clinched an agreement, as has the Kevin Costner-produced The Gray House and the Rebel Wilson starrer Bride Hard.