Venice: How SAG-AFTRA Waivers Impact Indie Film Sales
On August 15, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG, explained to press the conditions of the interim promotional agreements granted to films, enabling them to bring SAG-associated artists to festivals. When a movie obtains a SAG-AFTRA waiver, the film’s distributor must comply with the guild’s terms for its updated contract with AMPTP. This includes increased residual compensation for actors and below-the-line staff, as well as a portion of the subscription revenue generated by those projects. These terms will be conveyed to festival buyers by sales agents.
For many indie films, accepting SAG’s terms is beneficial, especially when their primary potential buyers are companies like Neon and A24, not affiliated with AMPTP. Actor David Krumholtz emphasized the challenge of securing a waiver at the Locarno Film Festival. Films with existing U.S. indie distribution, such as “Ferrari” by Neon and A24’s “Priscilla”, won’t be affected by the waiver restrictions and can benefit from interim agreements without sales concerns. However, Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” will screen in Venice without a waiver. There’s growing concern among sales agents that major buyers like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon might avoid projects tied to conditions they’ve already declined in SAG-AFTRA negotiations. Crabtree-Ireland highlighted that indie films with guild festival waivers are unlikely to appear on platforms owned by AMPTP members: ““That makes sense to me, because the interim agreement [includes] a streaming revenue share requirement, and that requirement is applicable to any kind of license or platforming of an interim agreement project on one of the AMPTP streaming services.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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On August 15, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG, explained to press the conditions of the interim promotional agreements granted to films, enabling them to bring SAG-associated artists to festivals. When a movie obtains a SAG-AFTRA waiver, the film’s distributor must comply with the guild’s terms for its updated contract with AMPTP. This includes increased residual compensation for actors and below-the-line staff, as well as a portion of the subscription revenue generated by those projects. These terms will be conveyed to festival buyers by sales agents.
For many indie films, accepting SAG’s terms is beneficial, especially when their primary potential buyers are companies like Neon and A24, not affiliated with AMPTP. Actor David Krumholtz emphasized the challenge of securing a waiver at the Locarno Film Festival. Films with existing U.S. indie distribution, such as “Ferrari” by Neon and A24’s “Priscilla”, won’t be affected by the waiver restrictions and can benefit from interim agreements without sales concerns. However, Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” will screen in Venice without a waiver. There’s growing concern among sales agents that major buyers like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon might avoid projects tied to conditions they’ve already declined in SAG-AFTRA negotiations. Crabtree-Ireland highlighted that indie films with guild festival waivers are unlikely to appear on platforms owned by AMPTP members: ““That makes sense to me, because the interim agreement [includes] a streaming revenue share requirement, and that requirement is applicable to any kind of license or platforming of an interim agreement project on one of the AMPTP streaming services.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Share:
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