SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal over Puppies
After almost six months of strike, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, the association of movie studios. Their new three-year contract resolves many of the issues SAG-AFTRA members were concerned about, including the threat of AI, increased compensation, healthcare, unpaid filmed auditions, and streaming residuals. The most contentious issue, however, took longer to find a solution—puppies on the set. For years, the actors have complained that there were never enough puppies on set to meet specified minimums, that what the studios claimed were puppies were actually adult dogs, and that the overall “cuteness” factor has been on a steady decline. The AMPTP argued that cute puppies were hard to find and that the COVID-induced supply chain issues were never resolved. The union found that the studios were using substandard puppies and cut their puppy budgets by 24% since the start of the last contract. Actors have long used puppies in their approach to acting to encourage sincere and expressive performances. The “Puppy Method” pioneered at Studio Canine in Chicago became the rival to Method Acting in the 1980s. In the agreement, the studios will increase funding for puppy farms, include buy-outs for top dogs, and an option for actors to keep the puppies at the end of the set. The actors celebrated the move with a long series of social media selfies with random puppies. The Humane Society warned the actors and studios of their concerns about animal welfare and the added strain on their animal health operations in Southern California. Superior Puppy Mills of California has already expressed interest in being the studio puppy supplier of choice.