SAG-AFTRA & Studios Could Meet Within Days

The Hollywood labor unions are standing in collective solidarity with SAG-AFTRA after the guild’s latest negotiations with the studios went south this week.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Hollywood unions issued a statement Friday calling on the major studios to resume bargaining with SAG-AFTRA, two days after talks with the actors union broke down. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday that the gap between the two sides was “too great,” and that further negotiations would not be productive. SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for 92 days.

This is Day 92 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Negotiations have once again collapsed between the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (aka AMPTP). The actors’ union is on strike as they try and negotiate fair wages in the age of streaming, artificial intelligence, and more.

The latest round of talks between the studios and SAG-AFTRA on ending the 92-day strike have collapsed tonight and now he Fran Drescher-led guild are accusing the AMPTP of using “bully tactics” and “the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA.”

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Talks between SAG-AFTRA and the major studios have broken down, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday that the gap between the sides is “too great.” The key stumbling block is a union proposal to share in streaming revenue, which the AMPTP says would cost $800 million a year. SAG-AFTRA wants a share of streaming revenue for all union-covered shows — both made-for-streaming and films and TV shows licensed from other platforms — which would go well beyond the success-based bonus won by the Writers Guild of America.

After a rough day of negotiations Wednesday, the actors guild and the studios have pulled the plug for now.

After less than two weeks, the latest negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the studios and streamers have broken down and been “suspended,” according to the AMPTP

There was no picketing Monday by SAG-AFTRA members due to the Indigenous Peoples Day holiday, but the leadership of the actors guild did return to the bargaining table with the studios and streamers.

SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on just wrapped their second day of renewed talks over a new three-year contract with a plan to meet again on Friday and even further down the line.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, is attending New York Comic Con on Oct. 14 for the panel “AI in Entertainment: The Performer’s Perspective”.

One down, and more to come.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Actors union SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP concluded a full day of negotiations on Monday, the first time negotiators have been in a room together since the union declared a strike on July 14. While little details were shared about the talks, both sides plan to meet again this week. “SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP met for a full day bargaining session and have concluded.

SAG-AFTRA is set to sit down with the studios today to restart talks on a deal for the actors.

Back at the bargaining table Monday for the first time in more than two and a half months, SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood studios and streamers have a long way to go to make a deal – even with the momentum gained by the end of the writers’ strike.

The Stranger Things writers are back at work and visualizing Season 5 after the WGA reached a fair deal with the studios. Following the production delay of the final season of the Netflix series due to the strike, writers joked about what the show will look like if SAG-AFTRA is not able to reach a fair deal with AMPTP.

This is Day 76 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against 10 of the major video game companies. The vote was 98.32% in favor.  A total of 34,687 members cast ballots, representing a voting 27.47% of eligible voters. The guild’s last strike against the gaming companies, in 2016-17, lasted 183 days. The guild, meanwhile, has been on strike against the film and TV industry since July 14.

SAG-AFTRA, which has been walking with the writers since day one of the WGA strike, was quick to congratulate the guild Sunday after reaching a tentative agreement on a deal.

EXCLUSIVE: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.