After talks between the SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP recently broke down in the wake of writers returning to work, several of Hollywood's biggest earners made a staggering gesture of support.
In a new update from talks between the two unions, it was revealed that a few A-listers had come together to pay the AMPTP in the millions to aid in providing greater health benefits and supplement other costs required by the SAG-AFTRA.
The proposal was presented on Wednesday night and was led by George Clooney, who was joined by the likes of Ben Affleck, Emma Stone, Tyler Perry and Scarlett Johansson.
One of the major changes will come with membership dues. Currently, actors part of the union are required to pay 1.575 percent of their covered earnings to the SAG-AFTRA, which caps at $1 million.
The proposal aims to remove the cap on membership dues, allowing some of the biggest earners to pay even higher amounts to bring in over $50 million to the union annually, according to George, who spoke with Deadline.
"A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution," he told the publication. "We've offered to remove the cap on dues, which would bring over $50 million to the union annually. Well over $150 million over the next three years. We think it's fair for us to pay more into the union."
© Getty ImagesHe also explained that one of the strategies they'd suggested was a "bottom-up residual structure," which means that those lowest on the call sheet, typically the ones who need to be paid the earliest, will be paid first.
© Getty Images"These negotiations will be ongoing, but we wanted to show that we're all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid."
READ: What is George Clooney's net worth and how does he make his money?
The strike first went into effect on midnight July 14, immediately shutting down U.S.-based TV and film productions as well as most several red carpets, interviews, and film promotional cycles at the height of the summer box office season.
In early August, it was revealed that Courtney B. Vance, president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation – an independent charity not part of, but associated with SAG-AFTRA – wrote a letter to several of the union's biggest earners, who collectively contributed over $15 million to their emergency assistance program.
MORE: Nicole Kidman gets good news amid SAG-AFTRA strike shutdowns
George and wife Amal Clooney, Ben and Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett, Emma, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Roberts, and more actors each donated over $1 million.
© Getty ImagesIn a statement released soon after, Courtney, the husband of actress Angela Bassett, said: "Thanks to the support of some of Hollywood's top-earning stars, the foundation is preparing to bring aid and hope to thousands of journeymen actors facing tremendous economic hardship."
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