Association Of Talent Agents Sends Members “Force Majeure” Summary Ahead Of Threatened WGA Strike
27.04.2023 - 02:59
/ deadline.com
As negotiations for a new Writers Guild contract enter their final phase, the Association of Talent Agents has sent its member-agencies a 22-page summary of the “force majeure” provisions contained in the contracts of the WGA, SAG-AFTRA and the DGA. Force majeure, the ATA notes, “is a provision in a contract that addresses the parties’ obligations if an extraordinary event directly prevents one or both parties from performing.”
Each of the guilds treats force majeure differently, but generally they establish the terms under which the companies can or cannot contractually suspend or terminate deals.
At the start of the 2007-08 WGA strike, for instance, Universal Media Studios cited the force majeure provisions in the Screen Actors Guild contract when it notified regulars on several of its shows, including The Office and 30 Rock, that they were being suspended on half-pay for five weeks.
Sony Pictures TV, however, told the regulars on two of its shows – Rules of Engagement and Til Death – that they were being put on unpaid hiatus while having to remain exclusive to the studio. SAG and AFTRA both objected, arguing that it violated their contracts.
The force majeure provision in the DGA’s contract, meanwhile, states that “No suspension or termination of Director’s services shall be permitted or effected by Employer under such force majeure clause or provisions unless the entire cast and the Director of Photography of the picture are likewise suspended or terminated, as the case may be.”
As you can see by the ATA’s summary of the guild’s various force majeure provisions (read it here), it’s complicated.
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The ATA summary, it should be