In a significant development following the end of the Hollywood strike, SAG-AFTRA has released a summary of the tentative agreement reached with the AMPTP. The agreement, estimated to be worth around $1 billion, was approved by 86% of SAG-AFTRA's board last Friday. However, ahead of the wider membership vote on the potential three-year contract, an extended summary of the deal has been made available online.

One of the major highlights of the summary is the introduction of a streaming revenue-sharing plan, similar to the gains made by the WGA during their strike. The plan will draw from a $40 million annual fund over the course of the contract and will provide payments to series, mini-series, and longform pictures that debut on or after January 1, 2024. To be eligible for payment, these projects must be viewed by at least 20% of a streaming service's subscriber base within 90 days of release. The summary does not provide specific details of the payments but states that the cast will receive 75% of the funds, while the remaining amount will be managed by a new fund co-run by SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP.

Another crucial aspect outlined in the summary pertains to AI protections, a contentious issue that played a significant role in the strike negotiations. The summary breaks down the use cases of artificial intelligence, including digital replicas of actors created either through their direct participation or from archival material. It also mentions synthetic replicas generated through AI prompts and digital replication of background actors for crowd scenes.

While the summary highlights the importance of clear and specific terms of consent from both living actors and the estates of deceased parties, particularly for background actors, concerns may arise regarding the broad use cases of AI discussed in the tentative agreement. Of particular concern is the provision that consent is not required in many post-production scenarios where AI is used for changes such as dubbing, cosmetics, wardrobe, noise reduction, timing, clarity, visual/sound effects, or filters. The summary also states that consent is not needed when making adjustments in dialogue or narration, or other similar situations where a double would traditionally be used.

The broader membership of SAG-AFTRA will now have the opportunity to review and vote on the tentative agreement. The voting process is expected to begin on November 14 and continue until early December. Although the full Memorandum of Agreement has not been made public, some members have already expressed concerns about the broad caveats and missing details in the summary.

As the voting process unfolds, the final decision on the contract's ratification will rest in the hands of the union membership, who will carefully consider the details provided in the summary and evaluate the impact of the agreement on their collective interests.