Talks Between the Studios and SAG-AFTRA Have Broken Down
When studios and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) came to an agreement to end the 148-day strike, there was optimism throughout Hollywood that an agreement with the actors wouldn’t be far behind.
Following the new writers deal, SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) quickly restarted negotiations on a new labor contract, and many were hopeful that Hollywood would soon be humming again.
As it turns out, however, that optimism may have been misplaced.
Talks Have Broken Down
Talks between SAG-AFTRA and studios have now once again broken down, with the AMPTP saying that the gap between the sides is “too great.”
The actor’s union meanwhile is accusing the studios of engaging in “bully tactics” and has expressed “profound disappointment” with the latest round of negotiations.
In a statement to its members, SAG-AFTRA stated the studios had walked from the negotiation table after refusing to counter the union’s most recent offer.
The Stumbling Block Is Streaming
The roadblock in negotiations seems to revolve around streaming revenue. SAG-AFTRA is proposing an agreement that would give actors a share of streaming revenue for all union-covered shows. Whether or not the programs were made for streaming, or licensed TV shows would not make a difference.
“We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began,” SAG-AFTRA said in a message to members. “These companies refuse to protect performers from being replaced by AI, they refuse to increase your wages to keep up with inflation, and they refuse to share a tiny portion of the immense revenue YOUR work generates for them.”
The Studios’ Respond
The AMPTP, for their part, says that such an agreement would cost studios $800 million a year.
While SAG-AFTRA says that studios are exaggerating the figure by 60%, such a deal would still go far beyond the success-based revenue share that writers negotiated.
“SAG-AFTRA’s current offer included what it characterized as a viewership bonus that, by itself, would cost more than $800 million per year – which would create an untenable economic burden,” the studio group said in a statement. “SAG-AFTRA presented few, if any, moves on the numerous remaining open items.”
More Striking Ahead
With no end to sight for the SAG-AFTRA strike, Hollywood will remain shut down for the foreseeable future.
Chris Seyser, co-chair of the WGA negotiating committee released a video on Wednesday urging members to contribute to the strike relief fund, and for the two sides to come to an agreement.
“The long tail of these two strikes will cause suffering for months to come,” Keyser said. “Let us bind up the wounds of this summer and put people back on their feet and this business back to work.”
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to bring you updates on all the news surrounding the ongoing actors strike.
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