THE NEW DEAL IS ON! SAG-AFTRA AND PRODUCERS SHAKE HANDS ON $256 MILLION INCREASE.

Dear Member,

We are thrilled to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on successor agreements covering motion pictures, scripted primetime dramatic television and new media production.

Significant improvements were secured in the residuals rate paid to performers for exhibition of their performances on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon. Under the new terms, actors will receive residuals for exhibition on subscription video on-demand platforms earlier, now after 90 days instead of after one year. The new formula delivers a 300% increase in residuals to performers within their first two years when their work is exhibited worldwide on Netflix.

SAG-AFTRA achieved a historic breakthrough in the rules governing travel for television performers, including an up to five-fold increase in the fees due to series performers who work at locations away from home. The travel rules for television have been rationalized and clarified, closing many loopholes and ambiguities that have allowed for abuse.

Series performer option rules were greatly improved, with the effect of reducing exclusivity periods for many series performers during which they can be held off the market.

In an unprecedented breakthrough, the new deal improves the overtime provisions for background actors working in the West Coast Zones so that they match New York standards while protecting against the attempted removal of night premiums in the New York Zone. Additionally, the committee improved the pay rate for photo doubles and achieved superior terms for background actors employed under the CW Supplement.

The committee also secured an additional 5 percent increase in the first year of the contract for stunt coordinators working under flat deal contracts in television.

Additionally, there is a first-year increase of .5 percent in the contribution rate applicable to the SAG Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund, bringing the total benefits contribution rate to 17.5 percent. The union may also elect to convert an additional one half of one percent from the wage package in each of the second and third year.

Highlights of the tentative agreement include:

• Total package valued at $256 million over three years
• 3-year agreement commencing July 1, 2017 and expiring June 30, 2020
  
• Wage increases of 2.5 percent in the first year, 3 percent in the second year and 3 percent in the third year
• Half percent increase in the current rate of employer contributions paid to the SAG Pension Plan and AFTRA Retirement Fund in the first year of the agreement, raising the total contribution rate to 17.5 percent effective July 1, 2017
• Secured an additional .2 percent increase in funding to the SAG-AFTRA industry cooperative funds, which will support monitoring animal safety on sets, safety training and sexual harassment prevention training
• Achieved recognition of Middle Eastern North African as a diverse category in the casting data report
• Agreement to study the design and implementation of an electronic reporting system for performer work times
• Improved residuals for programming made for SVOD (subscription video-on-demand)
  • First residual is now due in 90 days rather than one year
  • Increase in the residual rate
    
  • First ever residuals compensation for foreign use
• Improvements to money and schedule breaks
• Improvements to the advertiser-supported streaming residuals
  
• Outsized increase of 18 percent for background actors working under the CW supplement
• Terms requiring that all background actors be paid double-time starting after 10 hours of work
  

The new three-year agreement will be presented to the SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors for their approval on July 15 to be followed by a member ratification vote. Watch your email for further updates.

Thank you for your participation and involvement. Your steadfast support of SAG-AFTRA on social media vividly clarified to management that our negotiators had the strong backing of the board and our membership. This unity granted us the strength and leverage to achieve real gains on some of our membership’s most pressing items. 

In unity,

Gabrielle Carteris
President and Chair of the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee

David White
National Executive Director
and Chief Negotiator

AMC AND LIONSGATE SCORE THREE SEASON DEAL FOR MAD MEN!

PRNewswire/ -- AMC and Lionsgate today announced the return of the iconic series "Mad Men" for seasons five and six with series creator Matthew Weiner back on board as showrunner. Concurrently, it was announced that Weiner has signed a new long-term deal with Lionsgate, extending into a possible seventh season. The announcements were made by Charlie Collier, president of AMC, and Kevin Beggs, president of Lionsgate Television Group.

When AMC debuted "Mad Men" in July 2007 it quickly became one of the most talked about series on television. Set in 1960s New York, "Mad Men" is a sexy and provocative original drama that follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising. Produced by Lionsgate, "Mad Men" has made television history as the only cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama and the Golden Globe for Best Television Series-Drama for three consecutive years.

"I want to thank all of our wonderful fans for their support," said Weiner. "I also want to thank AMC and Lionsgate for agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning. I'm excited to get started on the next chapter of our story."

"AMC's original programming began with a mission to create bold storytelling of the highest quality, and 'Mad Men' was the perfect expression of that commitment. We've been proud to support this show from the day we read Matt's ground-breaking pilot script and have loved building it with Matt and Lionsgate into the cultural phenomenon it has become," said Collier. "For everyone involved in the show and its passionate fans, we are thrilled to announce that the series will continue on AMC under the exceptional vision of Matt Weiner."

"We are proud to continue our successful relationships with AMC and the brilliantly talented Matt Weiner, whose vision has created one of the most distinguished series on television," said Beggs. "We also appreciate the passion and patience of 'Mad Men' fans around the world who have been awaiting this good news, and we believe they will be rewarded with many more seasons of this extraordinary and groundbreaking series."

Mad Men's award-winning ensemble cast includes: Golden Globe-winner Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jared Harris, Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Robert Morse and Kiernan Shipka.

JOHNNY DEEP TO POCKET $36 MILLION FOR PIRATES...4
-Deal makes the Sleepy Hollow star, the highest paid actor of all time.

The flick, will see Captain Jack Sparrow looking "for the elixir of
eternal youth." Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley WILL NOT join Deep in the final movie. The title allegedly is Pirates of The Caribbean: Song of the Peg-Legged Parrot.

The deal is will also include Deep playing "the Mad Hatter in
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland" and "The Lone Ranger's sidekick Tonto."

FAITH GIVEN A LA CARTE DEAL AT FOX
-The Tru Caller will pick of any Fox show produced that seems seems comfortable or perfect for her.

FROM SCI-FI WIRE.COM

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer alumna Eliza Dushku (Faith) will star in a new project for the FOX network.

She last starred in the noble, but failed Tru Calling, "about a young morgue attendant who finds herself reliving days. Dushku most recently starred in the Fox pilot Nurses."

The network is allowing "integration (of) Dushku into the development process, giving her a chance to familiarize herself with (any or all) writers who have deals at 20th."

The network said "they were impressed by Dushku's versatility, given the actor's experience in comedy" (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Bring It On), "action and drama" (Buffy, True Lies.)