With the fall film festivals looming, SAG-AFTRA on Thursday assured its members who are part of projects that received interim agreements from the guild that it’s OK for them to support and promote their projects there.
The union’s interim agreement binds producer to whatever terms and conditions eventually are reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The guild has been on strike since July 14.
Related Stories
“Supporting productions covered by a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement shows strong solidarity with the union, and we encourage those members working under those agreements to celebrate and fully promote their projects,” the guild said today. “SAG-AFTRA members should feel comfortable auditioning for projects approved under an Interim Agreement.”
“From picket lines to film festivals,” the guild said, “SAG-AFTRA members are strengthening the union’s bargaining position and demonstrating solidarity by supporting and promoting their approved Interim Agreement productions at fall festivals, including the Venice International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.”
RELATED: SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements Come Under The Spotlight: “It’s The Wild West”
The interim agreement “is a strategic bargaining tool and an essential part of the union’s strategy to strengthen truly independent productions while weakening the resolve of the AMPTP,” the guild said. “The Interim Agreement is a full 70-page contract that includes the terms and conditions in the union’s last offer to the studios and streamers during negotiations. This contract is available only to independent producers looking to employ our members on specific productions, and it helps the union achieve its goals by putting pressure on the AMPTP and the struck companies while demonstrating that our proposals are reasonable.”
“This is what solidarity looks like,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “We are proud of our members who demonstrate the various ways to bolster the strike effort. Whether it’s walking a picket line, working on approved Interim Agreement productions, or maintaining employment on one of our other permissible, non-struck contracts, our members’ support for their union is empowering and inspiring.
“The Interim Agreement is a vital part of our strategic approach and was created for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members. The Agreement demonstrates to the AMPTP and the struck companies that independent producers at all budget levels are eager, keen, and able to work with our members under these terms. We encourage SAG-AFTRA members to audition for and appear in projects that have been approved for an Interim Agreement, and applaud them for promoting their work in these productions.”
More than 200 companies have signed interim agreements, which on August 14, in solidarity with the Writers Guild’s strike, it amended to exclude WGA-covered projects shot in the U.S. The next day, it clarified that distributors looking to acquire films with Interim Agreements at festival would have to adhere to those terms in order to make a deal.
On July 27, SAG-AFTRA began granting casting-specific agreements that allow its members to “audition and/or engage in negotiations regarding casting for these productions, but may not yet travel, rehearse, or otherwise begin rendering services for the production.”
Prominent projects on the list so far include Angel Studios’ Bible-based series The Chosen; the A24 films Mother Mary and I Dream of Unicorns and Apple TV+’s Tehran. Actors able to continue working under these agreements include Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, Glenn Close, James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Graham Greene and Melissa Leo among others. Movies from the likes of Guy Ritchie and Destry Allyn Spielberg have been granted casting agreements.
Festival-bound movies who have obtained interim agreements so far include Michael Mann’s Ferrari starring Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley; Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla with Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi; and Luc Besson’s DogMan with Caleb Landry Jones.
As reported earlier today, some indie producers, concerned that a backlog of applicants is slowing down the process, have urged SAG-AFTRA to fast-track the process in time to cast their films for showcasing at the Toronto Film Festival in September and the American Film Market in late October. A number of projects have already fallen away, and others are at risk, a handful of producers told Deadline.
Here is SAG-AFTRA’s full statement:
At Venice, Telluride, Toronto And Beyond, Sag Aftra Encourages Members To Promote Approved Interim Agreement Productions At Fall Film Festivals
From picket lines to film festivals, SAG-AFTRA members are strengthening the union’s bargaining position and demonstrating solidarity by supporting and promoting their approved Interim Agreement productions at fall festivals, including the Venice International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
SAG-AFTRA’s Interim Agreement is a strategic bargaining tool and an essential part of the union’s strategy to strengthen truly independent productions while weakening the resolve of the AMPTP. The Interim Agreement is a full 70-page contract that includes the terms and conditions in the union’s last offer to the studios and streamers during negotiations. This contract is available only to independent producers looking to employ our members on specific productions, and it helps the union achieve its goals by putting pressure on the AMPTP and the struck companies while demonstrating that our proposals are reasonable.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, “This is what solidarity looks like. We are proud of our members who demonstrate the various ways to bolster the strike effort. Whether it’s walking a picket line, working on approved Interim Agreement productions, or maintaining employment on one of our other permissible, non-struck contracts, our members’ support for their union is empowering and inspiring.
“The Interim Agreement is a vital part of our strategic approach and was created for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members. The Agreement demonstrates to the AMPTP and the struck companies that independent producers at all budget levels are eager, keen, and able to work with our members under these terms. We encourage SAG-AFTRA members to audition for and appear in projects that have been approved for an Interim Agreement, and applaud them for promoting their work in these productions.”
Supporting productions covered by a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement shows strong solidarity with the union,and we encourage those members working under those agreements to celebrate and fully promote their projects. SAG-AFTRA members should feel comfortable auditioning for projects approved under an Interim Agreement.
SAG-AFTRA’s TV/Theatrical negotiating committee members designed the Interim Agreement as a strategic tool to add leverage during our strike. These agreements are an important opportunity to improve the union’s bargaining position while providing some performers and crew the opportunity to pay their bills and put food on the table — all while still withholding our labor from the struck companies.
The Interim Agreement:
- Includes all terms and conditions that are part of the union’s last offer to the studios and streamers during negotiations. This contract is available only to independent producers looking to employ our members on specific productions.
- Demonstrates to the industry, Wall Street and the public that the studios are shutting the industry down to resist terms that are clearly reasonable and viable.
- Proves that the union’s proposed wage increases and other contractual improvements are reasonable and realistic.
- Demonstrates that the union’s proposed residuals formulas are economically viable.
- Encourages production to be directed to union-covered projects instead of going non-union.
- Will increase competitive pressure on the AMPTP.
- Will make distribution of these projects through streaming platforms unfeasible until an industrywide agreement has been reached.
The Interim Agreement is not:
- A waiver. It is the exact opposite of a waiver, in that it includes everything we want and nothing we don’t.
- New. Interim agreements were in place and a successful negotiation tool during the 1960 and 1980 TV/Theatrical strikes against the studios and networks, and for the 2000 commercials strike.
- Going to prolong the strike.
Must Read Stories
SAG-AFTRA Strike
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.