SAG-AFTRA to Stop Approving Interim Agreements for Indie Projects

Forum 8 months ago

SAG-AFTRA to Stop Approving Interim Agreements for Indie Projects

SAG-AFTRA announced on Monday it will no longer grant interim agreements to independent projects written under the previous Writers Guild of America contract.

What is the latest update from SAG-AFTRA?

Going forward, SAG-AFTRA will stop offering deals to films produced in the U.S. and written under the previous WGA contract (via Variety).

In a statement made on the union’s site, the group acknowledged the move. They confirmed that “going forward, for productions taking place in the USA, SAG-AFTRA will only grant Interim Agreements for non-WGA-covered projects. And our staff will continue to investigate each application for an Interim Agreement to ensure only true independent productions are included.”

According to the statement, the move comes from the advisement of the WGA. The organization noted that modifying the rule would “assist them in executing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours. It is a win-win change.”

Judging by the language in the update, it seems as if all previous agreements will be honored, although SAG-AFTRA didn’t comment on those in its statement. Now, in order to obtain an interim agreement from the union in the future, producers must now show they have no financing from companies involved in the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers,) and must also agree to the latest terms that SAG-AFTRA has called for when it went on strike.

SAG-AFTRA also keeps a running list of which projects it has handed out agreements to. So far, over 200 projects have been given passes to continue filming. Some of these include high-profile projects from studios like A24’s Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, and Mother Mary starring Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway. Neon’s Ferrari, which stars Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, was also recently given an interim agreement.