SAG Strike Rules: What Hollywood Actors Can and Can’t Do Until a Resolution Is Reached

A memo sent to Screen Actors Guild members Thursday outlines the many types of work forbidden during the union's strike

No acting or singing or stunts. No interviews to promote movies or shows.

Now that leadership for the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced that the union will go on strike at midnight Thursday, its 160,000 members have received instructions on what is and isn’t permitted.

In a Thursday memo signed by union president Fran Drescher and national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA members were ordered “to cease rendering all services and performing all work covered by the TV/Theatrical Contracts” once the strike begins.

According to the memo, that includes “principal on camera work,” such as acting, singing, dancing, performing stunts, piloting on-camera aircraft, puppeteering and performance capture or motion capture work.

Related: Everything to Know About the SAG Strike and How It Will Affect TV and Movies

In other words, any work on TV shows and movies comes to a halt, shutting down production completely.

Off-camera work that is forbidden includes re-recording dialogue, voice acting, narration and stunt coordination.

Promoting new projects—including tours, personal appearances, and attendance at premieres and screenings—is also not allowed. (Even though the strike is not set to begin until midnight Thursday, the cast of Oppenheimer left the London premiere early after the press conference announcing the strike.) Interviews are also off the table, as well as podcast appearances and promotion on social media.

Also forbidden: awards campaigning, such as appearances at “for your consideration events,” meaning the recently-nominated Emmy contenders cannot promote their work.

Fans who were excited to see their favorite stars at events like Comic-Con will also be disappointed to learn that actors cannot appear at any conventions, fan expos or festivals in order to promote “any project that was made under the TV/theatrical agreement,” Crabtree-Ireland said at a Thursday press conference announcing the strike.

The memo also clearly states that members “must not cross SAG-AFTRA picket lines,” although exceptions will be made for “non-struck work.”

Members must also “instruct their agent and/or other representatives to discontinue conducting negotiations on their behalf with the studios, streamers and networks for covered services,” according to the note.

So what is allowed? Events like autograph signings “or things that are not related to specific companies or projects that are produced under these agreements” will be permitted, Crabtree-Ireland said at the press conference. He urged members who were unsure if something was permitted to check with leadership.

SAG-AFTRA members voted to strike after contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed.

“I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things,” Drescher said in a fiery speech at the Thursday press conference. In negotiations with the AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA has been seeking pay and residual increases, higher caps on pension and health contributions and regulating the use of artificial intelligence, among other things.

Hollywood execs “plead poverty that they're losing money left and right while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment. We stand in solidarity in unprecedented unity,” Drescher said.

Related: Fran Drescher Responds to Backlash After Italy Trip, Kim Kardashian Photo: It Was 'Work, Not Fun'

In a statement Thursday, the AMPTP said, according to ABC News, "We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations. This is the Union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more."

"Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods. There are 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA and over 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America."

Drescher said in a Q&A with members of the press that she was open to talks with AMPTP again as soon as that night.

This is SAG-AFTRA’s first strike in more than 40 years. They join the Writers Guild of America, whose members have been on strike since May.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.