After more than a week of silence, the actors’ union and the AMPTP will resume negotiations on October 24.
“SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP will meet on Tuesday, October 24 at SAG-AFTRA Plaza for negotiations. Several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance,” a statement from SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP said today.
While SAG-AFTRA says it was the studios that walked away from the table on Oct. 11, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator and national executive, told Deadline on Thursday that he remains “optimistic.” that both sides will stand. would sit on the other side of the table. soon
Crabtree-Ireland said: “I didn’t expect it [negotiations] “Should last so long,” he continued. “The time spent without negotiations is completely unacceptable. The studios and streamers should now be back at the table with us. They should have been there for the first 80 days, but that was not the case. I am very much looking forward to that happening and I believe it will happen soon. I believe there is a lot of effort outside of formal channels to bring people back to the table, so I am optimistic that this will happen soon. But I know we’ll just stay strong and get a fair deal.”
The talks collapsed on October 11 when SAG-AFTRA proposed an annual fee of 75 cents per subscriber as part of a revenue-sharing plan with the studios. The next day, at a Bloomberg conference, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos called such a charge a “subscriber charge.” [other] areas” and also a “bridge too far”. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator and national executive director, called Sarandos’ statement “ridiculous” in an interview with Deadline last Saturday. The studios rejected the guild’s demand, saying in a public statement it was an “unbearable economic burden” that would cost them more than $2.4 billion, or more than $800 million, over the course of a new three-year deal. dollars per year. would cost SAG-AFTRA responded by saying that the studios “deliberately misrepresented the cost of the above proposal to the press – exaggerating it by 60%.”
On Tuesday, Hollywood’s biggest stars joined SAG-AFTRA leaders on a Zoom call, pledging to commit $150 million over three years to lifting a cap on union dues to bring more coin into the guild’s coffers, and proposed a residual structure that would take place actors at the bottom of the summons sheet in front of them. The hope was that by raising money faster, more struggling actors would be eligible for benefits.
Deadline initially told you that the list of actors George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington, Tyler Perry, Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Laura Dern, Emma Stone, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Reynolds, include. . and Ariana DeBose.
However, union leader Fran Drescher later said that such a move was inconsistent with the contract that SAG-AFTRA had been trying to negotiate.
Clooney’s offer “has no impact on the contract we are negotiating,” Drescher said on Instagram Thursday night.
“I also want to thank George Clooney for organizing the proposal to… eliminate contribution limits so that the highest earners can contribute more. “Though that is extremely generous and we are happy to accept it.”
Drescher explained why the proposal wouldn’t work.
“We are a state-regulated union and the only contributions that can flow into our pension and sick funds must come from the employer. What we are fighting for in terms of benefits must therefore remain in this contract.”
“SAG-AFTRA members have been systematically priced out of the opportunity to make a living as a result of a streaming model that cuts the number of episodes in a season by two-thirds and the number of seasons by two-thirds while also cutting the syndication tail cut.” Drescher said in an exclusive open letter to Deadline today, on the 100th day of the guild strike.
She added: “This dramatic shortage of jobs coupled with inadequate compensation has had a devastating impact on the working and working actors who bring films and television shows to life.” It affected their ability to pay their rent, put food on the table. and carry clothes on their children’s backs.”
Combined with the WGA strike that ended on September 27, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has cost the California economy $5 billion. Additionally, 45,000 jobs were lost, according to Labor Statistics, with Labor Day box office receipts down nearly $400 million compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
While the writers room has begun, the start of the new season is in limbo. The studios were hoping for a January 2024 broadcast when they reached an agreement with the writers and hoped the actors would sign a contract immediately. This did not happen because SAG-AFTRA is committed to achieving better terms for the flow of residuals/revenue sharing and actors’ rights regarding AI use.
The collateral damage caused by the strike is also the film release calendar. With theaters coping with aid from the US government after being closed for nearly a year due to Covid, the box office has rebounded, though not to the pre-pandemic domestic level of $11 billion. With major Hollywood studios shut down worldwide, this will indeed force the majors to postpone films, leaving gaps in the release calendar and putting the debt-laden exhibition pipeline in dire straits. Deadline first told you that Marvel Studios deadpool3, which is only half-finished, won’t make its May 3 release date in early summer, even if the strike ends in the near future.
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Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
