Hollywood strike unlikely after actors' group agrees deal
New Hollywood strike unlikely after actors' group ratifies contract
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Wednesday, 09, Jul 2008 12:24
The potential for a new Hollywood strike has lessened after a leading actors' group ratified a deal with studios.
Tinseltown had been bracing itself for a further bout of industrial action - just months after the 100-day writers' strike.
But a three-year contract was agreed between the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a normal work schedule could return to Hollywood faster than previously anticipated.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had recommended that its members strike over a failure to agree a deal on remuneration policies when their work is reused on DVD, mobile phones and online.
While the SAG is in favour of a strike, AFTRA proposed a deal aimed at avoiding action this summer.
And with 62.4 per cent of AFTRA members approving the agreement - which will provide a wage increase - the SAG is left with little negotiating room when its own talks with the AMPTP begin on Thursday.
"[The] SAG ran a well-funded and ferocious disinformation campaign that created a lot of confusion," said AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"We are the ones who won the moral victory."
George Clooney had become a peacemaker of sorts in the pay dispute, penning a two-pay letter last week to outline the pros and cons of the SAG and AFTRA strategies.
While Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon had backed the AFTRA proposals, the likes of Viggo Mortensen and Jack Nicholson had lent their support to the SAG's push for a better deal.
In a statement issued after the vote, SAG President Alan Rosenberg said: "We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that AFTRA left on the table.
"We remain committed to achieving a fair contract for SAG actors."
The AMPTP is believed to have offered the SAG a compensation package worth around $250 million (£125 million).