SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher was a model of courage last year during the union’s 118-day strike – the longest in its history – confronting leaders of major film studios, while maintaining the solidarity of members on the protest line. But she is quick to admit that the “relentless stress” has taken its toll. Two months after the union ratified a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, her body is still paying the price for what her brain went through. Having recently recovered from the “cold from hell” she brought back to Los Angeles from New York, she is now dealing with a torn meniscus in her knee.
“I try to be a superwoman, but sometimes my body reminds me that I’m not,” says Drescher, a versatile actress-writer-producer-women’s health advocate ( says a uterine cancer survivor who founded the nonprofit Schmancer Cancer Movement, who was previously best known as the star of the long-running sitcom “The Nanny.” .
She is much more optimistic about the state of the guild after the strike. “We went from being like the third banana in a sitcom to being the stars of an Oscar-winning feature film,” she notes.
The deal is worth more than $1 billion over the three years of the contract, including an 11% increase in the minimum wage in the first year, a 153% increase in relocation payments, and increased contributions to health and pension funds. /retirement, improved sex drive. harassment prevention and new fair rules regarding hair and makeup and even auditions.
“Not really respecting [the] time an actor [needs] to prepare was really crazy,” Drescher said. “Now, they are limited in the number of pages they have to read for the early audition process.”The most frequently mentioned deal points in the contract addressed how advances in technology are rewriting industry business models. It generates residual bonuses of $40 million a year for actors on streaming shows, with 75% going to those who work on the most-watched shows and 25% going to a fund SAG-AFTRA and employers co-manage. distributed more widely to actors appearing in streaming content. There are also new regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence, including provisions requiring producers to obtain “clear and conspicuous” consent from actors to create digital copies. like them and pay them according to the number of days it takes to shoot. scenes feature the actors on a live set as well as the rest.
