Actors Guild Agrees To Deal With Film Company

The Screen Actors Guild has agreed to let members work for one independent film company if actors strike against major movie studios within months, and similar deals with other firms could ease pressure on small film and TV producers. The “interim agreement” was signed with The Film Department as negotiations between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) continued on Thursday with no word from either party on any progress.

Spokespeople for SAG and the AMPTP, who began new contract talks earlier this week, declined to comment on the interim agreement, and it was unclear if other independent companies had approached SAG about similar agreements.

Mark Gill, who heads The Film Department, said his company approached SAG with the idea, and that the “interim agreement” was similar to deals the Writers Guild of America signed with some independent producers late last year allowing them to work during a crippling 100-day writers strike. Read the rest of this entry