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SAG-AFTRA announced Monday that it will no longer award tentative agreements to independent projects that are written under a Writers Guild of America contract.
The union has already given permission for 207 independent projects to continue filming during the strike, including those featuring stars like Jason Bateman, Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey.
SAG-AFTRA argued that the Accords supported the strike because it involved independent producers who agreed to all of the union’s demands. But they caused a huge backlash within the union, with some members feeling that they were undermining the overall effect of the strike.
Monday’s announcement was the first concession to that backlash. The union agreed that, going forward, it would not approve projects that were written under a WGA contract and would be produced in the United States.
“The WGA has informed us that this amendment will assist them in implementing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the usefulness and effectiveness of our strategy,” the union announced Monday. “It’s a win-win change.”
The move is a signal of solidarity with the WGA strike, which began on May 2. The WGA’s strike rules prevent members from engaging in “writing services,” but do not prevent the production of WGA-covered scripts.
The SAG-AFTRA decision will not affect the 207 projects already approved. In order to receive an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, producers must prove that they do not receive funding from companies in the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance. They must also agree to the latest terms proposed by SAG-AFTRA before calling the strike on July 13.
The Contracts will eventually be amended to comply with any agreement AMPTP enters into with SAG-AFTRA.
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