{"id":140026,"date":"2025-09-13T02:40:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T02:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/140026\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T02:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T02:40:07","slug":"sean-astin-elected-president-of-sag-aftra-succeeding-fran-drescher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/140026\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Astin Elected President of SAG-AFTRA, Succeeding Fran Drescher"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSean Astin<\/a>, the star of \u201cRudy,\u201d \u201cGoonies\u201d and \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d was elected Friday to be president of SAG-AFTRA, succeeding Fran Drescher.<\/p>\n

\n\tAstin was part of a slate dubbed \u201cThe Coalition,\u201d a unity ticket that included members of the historical rival factions within the union as well as some who were unaffiliated with either side. He defeated Chuck Slavin<\/a>, a member of the union\u2019s New England local board, who had run a dissident campaign.<\/p>\n

\n\tAstin took 79% of the vote, to 21% for Slavin. Michelle Hurd, also part of the Coalition slate, was elected secretary-treasurer.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNow is a time for optimism and creativity,\u201d Astin said in a statement. \u201cI am thrilled that the members have allowed me to lead our storied organization out of this challenging moment and into a future defined by confidence, progress and fierce advocacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an email, Slavin said the outcome was \u201cdisappointing,\u201d but that he was facing a political machine that represents the \u201cpowerful Hollywood elite who wield influence to maintain their grip on power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAstin takes a job once held by his late mother, Patty Duke, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the predecessor union, from 1985-88. Astin has been heavily involved in SAG-AFTRA politics for the last six years, and served on the negotiating committee during the four-month actors\u2019 strike in 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a recent interview, Astin said he got especially engaged during the pandemic, when he logged countless hours attending Zoom committee meetings.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m really focused on details and the mechanics of the possess,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019ll be a good moment for someone like me to be in this role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJoely Fisher, who served as secretary-treasurer for the last four years, was elected president of the Los Angeles local.<\/p>\n

\n\tDrescher stepped aside after four years as president, during which she led the 2023 negotiations and was a prominent voice on the picket lines outside the major studios. During her tenure, she helped resolve some of the internal feuding between Unite for Strength and Membership First, the rival slates that have dominated union politics for decades.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe came in and was not going to tolerate rehashing old debates,\u201d Astin said, noting she had done a good job forging consensus. \u201cMy job is to extend that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Friday, the union leadership paid tribute to Drescher\u2019s service and announced that it is close to finalizing an element of her legacy.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring negotiations, Drescher pushed for a fund to distribute residuals to performers on streaming shows. The Success Bonus Distribution Fund is intended to spread the wealth more broadly than standard streaming residuals. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a memo to members, the union said that stand-ins, stunt riggers and background actors will be eligible, provided they have a significant connection to the most successful shows on streaming platforms. The union said that it also expanded the scope of productions that will qualify. <\/p>\n

\n\tFurther details are said to be issued in the coming weeks. It is unclear how much money will be distributed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is the last puzzle piece from the 2023 TV\/Theatrical\/Streaming contract,\u201d Drescher said in a statement. \u201cI appreciate the streaming channels and AMPTP who leaned towards us and made a fair deal. This historic triumph marks the end of my tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a statement congratulating Astin on his victory.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe look forward to working with President Astin to address the issues most important to SAG-AFTRA performers while promoting stability and opportunity across our industry,\u201d an AMPTP spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe union is set to go back to the negotiating table with the AMPTP in 2026. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI personally would approach any negotiation with an open mind and an open heart,\u201d Astin said, \u201cbut also with absolute resolve that our dignity and our legitimate needs be understood.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sean Astin, the star of \u201cRudy,\u201d \u201cGoonies\u201d and \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d was elected Friday to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[49,48,361,56861,75,41881],"class_list":{"0":"post-140026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-chuck-slavin","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-sean-astin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}