By AFP<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hollywood celebrated Thursday after actors ended a crippling months-long strike, kicking off a race to get the cameras rolling and salvage next year\u2019s movies and television shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) called off its 118-day strike after reaching a tentative agreement with studios for a new contract including higher pay and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the deal needs to be ratified, and details of the contract have not yet been released, actors can return to making \u2014 and promoting \u2014 films right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEffective immediately, all SAG-AFTRA members should fulfill their contractual obligations and return to work,\u201d the union said in a message to members Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal comes just in time for studios to finish movies still penciled in for next summer\u2019s blockbuster season, and some television shows can even be completed in time for spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWE DID IT!!!\u201d wrote actor Noah Schnapp, posting on Instagram an image of a screenplay for the final season of hit Netflix show \u201cStranger Things,\u201d which had to delay filming earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, We\u2019re very back,\u201d wrote Quinta Brunson, star of \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some movies, including Tom Cruise\u2019s next \u201cMission Impossible,\u201d had already abandoned release dates next summer, the timing of the deal will raise hopes that other big titles can be delivered on schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Filming on Ryan Reynolds\u2019 and Hugh Jackman\u2019s eagerly awaited superhero sequel \u201cDeadpool 3,\u201d which was forced to pause for four months, will resume before Thanksgiving (November 23), Variety reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere will be a summer movie season next year \u2014 which was in great peril if this deal hadn\u2019t gotten done before the holidays,\u201d said entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe would have seen a complete exodus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the timing of the agreement will also reinvigorate Hollywood\u2019s imminent awards season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oscars are set to be held in March, and nominations for precursor events such as the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards will be announced as soon as next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already by Thursday morning, invitations to star-studded Los Angeles premieres were being dispatched to awards group voters, including a gala featuring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore for Netflix movie \u201cMay December\u201d at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upcoming world premieres for eagerly awaited movies such as \u201cWonka,\u201d starring Timothee Chalamet, and \u201cAquaman and the Lost Kingdom,\u201d starring Jason Momoa, will be able to wheel out their A-list talent, to boost publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 \u2018Relief and happiness \u2018 \u2013<\/strong> \u201cHow I feel is great relief and happiness that we stood firm, we held our ground, and we got a historic and seminal contract at a point in history where it was necessary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to pay rises, and bonuses for starring in hit shows, the contract ensures for the first time that studios need to \u201cask for permission for everything\u201d when using artificial intelligence to digitally insert famous actors into movies, said Drescher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details of the new contract will be shared following a SAG-AFTRA board meeting Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deal was hailed by politicians including US President Joe Biden, who said in a statement: \u201cCollective bargaining works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is power in a union. Congratulations @sagaftra!\u201d wrote Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent progressive Democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside Los Angeles studios, the picket lines that have become a daily feature since May were gone, although a small group of SAG-AFTRA members gathered outside Warner Bros. to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel relieved\u2026 we had been tensing up, not knowing how long this fight was gonna go, and now we can release that tension,\u201d actor D.W. McCann told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHopefully the contract is what we need it to be. And it can just be behind us and we can get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By AFP Hollywood celebrated Thursday after actors ended a crippling months-long strike, kicking off a race to get the cameras rolling and salvage next year\u2019s movies and television shows. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) called…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[2846,1053,2845],"class_list":["post-8485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-actors","tag-hollywood","tag-strike"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>\u201cWe can really celebrate with this contract,\u201d SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told CNN on Thursday, adding that the new contract \u201cbroke so much ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n