Hollywood actors and studios reached a tentative agreement Wednesday to put an end to a month-long strike which crippled the entertainment industrydelayed hundreds of shows and movies and cost the American economy billions of dollars.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) has announced it will end its 118-day strike at midnight (08:00 GMT Thursday) after reaching an agreement with studios such as Netflix and Disney on contract lawsuits including salary increases and protection against the use of artificial intelligence, details AFP.

The announcement clears the way for performers, from stars to extras, to return to movie sets and leave picket lines outside studios, and to activate thousands of other jobs related to the entertainment industry.

“This afternoon, the SAG-AFTRA Film and Television Committee unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the 118-day strike.‘, the union said in a short statement.

To resolve the conflict between the actors, both sides reached an agreement on the minimum wage, with an increase of approximately 8% compared to the previous contract.

It’s less than the actors originally wanted, but more than the writers got, and the biggest increase in decades.

A bonus structure was also agreed for starring in successful series or films, a demand linked to the growth of streaming platforms, which tend to order fewer episodes per series and pay minimal ‘residuals’ regardless of the number of times a program is being watched.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the key points of friction in the latest stretch of negotiations, which at times failed to keep pace with rapid technological progress.

Actors fear that AI could be used to clone their voices and imagesand they wanted stricter rules on the compensation and permissions studios should receive than what companies were willing to give.

A final detail agreed this week concerns studios’ “ownership” of images of famous stars after their deaths.

The union said it will submit the tentative agreement to its national leadership for “review and consideration” this Friday. Ratification of the agreement could take months, but it should be completed.

Over the past two weeks, conversations have taken place between the two parties almost every day. Sometimes CEOs of studios like Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and Universal personally as calls for a deal grew.

Given the duration of the strike, studios faced hiccups in their release schedules over the next few years., while many actors were forced to find other jobs to pay the bills and even leave the profession. (JO)