There are a couple of steps that need to happen before the deal becomes official, with the national SAG-AFTRA board set to review the agreement before details are released and the guild’s full membership takes a vote.
However, when striking screenwriters reached their deal in September, writing work was allowed to resume before full ratification of the contract was complete.
As Hollywood looks set to get back to work, here’s what to expect.
Film and TV production
Image: Production is likely to resume on Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds. Pic: AP
Production on films and TV shows is expected to start momentarily following the end of the strike. But while the deal means work can now resume, don’t expect a flurry of shows and films to come out straight away – after a delay of several months it will take time for the industry to get back to normal, and viewers may continue to feel the effects for months, if not years.
Much-anticipated films including Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel will likely be among the first films that will resume production.
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Work on season five of hit ’80s sci-fi series Stranger Things was also paused, and the cast of Wicked, which includes Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, were days away from completing the film before the announcement.
Image: Stranger Things was among the hit shows put on hold during the strikes. Pic: Tina Rowden/Netflix
Production on upcoming seasons of other hit shows, including The Handmaid’s Tale and The Last Of Us, was also put on hold.
The resolution of the writers strike allowed script work to resume on shows such as Abbott Elementary, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets – and this head-start might help those productions get back on the air sooner once their stars are cleared to work.
Television moves faster than film – as one once filming ends on films there is still a lengthy editing and promotional process.
In recent weeks before the announcement of the resolution, more shows and films announced delays – Kevin Costner’s final episodes of Yellowstone won’t air until November 2024, and the next Mission: Impossible film has also been postponed.
Red carpet glam
Image: Oppenheimer stars Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy had to walk out of the UK premiere as the strike was announced
It wasn’t just work on production itself that was put on hold – members of SAG-AFTRA, which represents around 160,000 workers in the industry, were also barred from publicising any of their upcoming projects.
This means that for months, film and TV premieres have either been called off, or gone ahead without their stars, and you will have seen very few actors giving interviews about their acting work. Striking actors were even warned not to dress up as popular film or TV characters at Halloween.
The much-anticipated premiere of Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer was scheduled on 14 July, the day the actors strike was announced – forcing stars including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon to walk off the red carpet.
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Sky News speaks to Oppenheimer stars shortly before strike announcement
Now, promo can go ahead as planned – so we’re expecting to see a flurry of red carpet announcements as studios rush to show off their stars once again.
The strike also affected international film festivals such as Venice and Toronto – and during the London Film Festival in October, director Martin Scorsese said he was “disappointed” that the stars of his latest film, Killers Of The Flower Moon, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, could not attend.
The end of the strike means festivals such as Sundance, Berlin and Cannes can go ahead as planned at the beginning of 2024.
Some projects were given exemptions, such as Michael Mann’s upcoming racing drama Ferrari, for which stars Adam Driver and Patrick Dempsey were able to attend the Venice Film Festival – and also allowed Dempsey to do an interview with People magazine when it named him its Sexiest Man Alive.
Does this affect the Oscars or other awards shows?
The Emmy Awards, which usually take place in September, were called off due to the strikes. A new date was set for 15 January, and it looks like the ceremony will now be able to go ahead on this date.
As most of the awards ceremonies take place between January and April, events including the big one, the Oscars, can now take place as planned without any changes.
What does the deal mean?
SAG-AFTRA says the deal is worth more than a billion dollars and includes compensation increases, consent protections for use of artificial intelligence and actors’ likenesses, and a “streaming participation bonus”.
The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers says the “tentative agreement represents a new paradigm”, and that studios are offering actors “the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last 40 years”.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, says the gains have made the strike worthwhile.
What’s next?
Well… it might not all be over just yet. In fact, there could be another actors strike – this time by video game performers. Negotiations for this contract are ongoing, but a shutdown has been authorised.
Actors who work on video games range from voice performers to stunt performers, and like SAG-AFTRA members have expressed concerns about the use of AI in their industry.
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Studios will also be negotiating with set workers and their guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, in 2024. IATSE members work on everything from set-building to lighting and creating effects, and so are crucial to film and television production. They have been severely impacted by the filming shutdown already, with some members joining the picket lines in the writers and actors strikes.
And other sectors of the industry have moved to unionise as the actors and writers strikes have played out. Some reality television workers are calling for a union, while visual effects artists who work on Marvel films voted to join IATSE.
So while Hollywood loves a happy ending, there could be a sequel to come.
Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.
Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.
In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.
“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”
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Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.
Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.
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“There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”
Image: Gregg Wallace has defended his former MasterChef co-host John Torode (left). File pic: PA
At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.
“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”
In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.
“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.
He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.
On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.
“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”
Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”
On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.
The company at the centre of a viral video at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media – featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson”.
Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight after two of the tech firm’s senior executives were filmed embracing on a kiss cam during a gig in Boston.
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Tech boss resigns after viral Coldplay concert video
Paltrow, who used to be married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, is seen sitting at a desk in the new video uploaded to X – and begins by thanking the public for their interest in Astronomer.
She adds: “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days – and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”
A question is then typed out on the screen that reads: “OMG, what the actual…”
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Before the final word appears, the video cuts back to Paltrow, who goes on to promote some of the services Astronomer offers.
In a subtle nod to the countless column inches the company has attracted, Paltrow adds: “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”
Another question then pops up on screen, which begins to type out: “How is your social media team holding up?”
But before the sentence fully appears, Paltrow abruptly interrupts by declaring that Astronomer has spaces at an upcoming conference in September.
“We’ll now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” she adds at the end of the video.
The marketing stunt is a sign that Astronomer is trying to put a positive spin on the scandal, which sparked feverish speculation online.
After Mr Byron resigned, the company had said in a statement: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Pete DeJoy, who has taken over as interim CEO, admitted on Monday that the company has faced an “unusual and surreal” amount of attention in recent days.
On LinkedIn, he wrote: “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.”
Top Boy actor Micheal Ward has been charged with two counts of rape and is due to appear in court next month.
Ward, 27, has also been charged with two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.
The offences relate to one woman and are reported to have taken place in January 2023.
“Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward – we know investigations of this nature can have a significant impact on those who make reports,” said Detective Superintendent Scott Ware, whose team is leading the Met Police’s investigation.
Image: Ward at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 15 July during a press call for his upcoming film Eddington. Pic: PA
Ward, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 28 August, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Ward said he denies the charges of rape and sexual assault, adding in a statement: “I recognise that proceedings are now ongoing, and I have full faith that they will lead to my name being cleared.”
In a statement, Catherine Baccas, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “We remind all concerned that proceedings against the suspect are active and he has a right to a fair trial.
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“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.”
Image: Michael Ward has been charged with rape and sexual assault. He is pictured in October 2023. Pic: PA
Ward starred in the popular Netflix series Top Boy as Jamie. He also appeared in films like Blue Story, The Old Guard and Empire of Light.
In 2020, the Jamaican-born actor was awarded the Bafta Rising Star honour in 2020.
He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Bafta in 2021 for his role as Franklyn in the BBC series Small Axe, and 2022 for his performance as Stephen in Empire of Light.
Ward is also in the upcoming American film Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, which is set to be released in the UK next month.
Image: Ward is pictured during the opening night of A View From The Bridge at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in June 2024. Pic: PA
He has more than a million followers on Instagram and participated in charity events like the Soccer Aid match at Stamford Bridge last year.
Ward gave a reading at the Christmas Eve carol service hosted by the Princess of Wales in 2023.