“We fought for and won a historic contract and AI is not going to take our jobs,” SAG-AFTRA strike captain Jules Bruff says.
Performers are getting ready to get back to work Thursday after the longest strike in the Screen Actors Guild’s history was resolved Wednesday night.
Actors celebrated the deal reached between SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios after the 118-day-long strike.
“I woke up this morning going I can’t believe it, you know. I am so thrilled,” SAG-AFTRA strike captain Michelle C. Bonilla tells Inside Edition.
“We fought for and won a historic contract and AI is not going to take our jobs,” strike captain Jules Bruff says.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher spoke with Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville about the historic deal.
“We opened up a new stream of revenue for those people that are on the streaming platform and that was a very big deal,” Drescher says. “Everything requires the consent of the SAG-AFTRA member. That is major.”
Drescher also shared her secret weapon during negotiations, a stuffed heart named Love.
“Without any regret or apologies, I would take this little guy out and I would sit him on the table right opposite Bob Iger. I turned it into a woman and girls movement to lead with empathy, dignity, intellect — to be you,” Drescher says.
With the strike finally over, many are wondering how soon their favorite TV shows will return.
Variety’s Michael Schneider says some shows will return as soon as January.
“The second the strike ended they could hit the ground running and that’s exactly what’s going to be. Studio space has been rented out. Talent is on hold.” Schneider says. “The first shows you’ll see are the traditional broadcast shows, so NCIS, the shows that you normally expect to see 22 episodes a season. They’ll be able to salvage half of those seasons this year.”
