SAG-AFTRA and Studios to Continue Strike Talks Through the Weekend

In what might be a sign that an end to the actors’ strike could be near, SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will continue contract talks through the weekend after finishing Friday’s session, TheWrap has learned.

According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, no resolution was found Friday. There was some progress made, but there is still a lot of work to do. That same individual said that the four studio CEOs present at the table in previous negotiation sessions — Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley — were not present in person on Friday, but were kept in the loop virtually.

On the studio side, Friday’s meeting was led by the AMPTP negotiating committee in the executives’ absence, but all four were said to be strongly committed to being in the room as needed. The session went past 5 p.m. PT, and it’s currently unclear what time talks will pick back up Saturday.

Representatives for SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from TheWrap, but according to another studio insider, Friday’s talks may have seen a breakthrough on the issue of minimum rate increases. The two sides are working towards some kind of compromise in which the studios would commit to a higher rate than what the WGA got in their contract, but not the 11% first year increase SAG-AFTRA has pushed for. For the time being, a workable business model remained out of reach.

Primary issues elsewhere, according to the first individual with knowledge, continued to be a residual structure that both sides believe to be representative of their needs, AI pension and health care wage increases.

SAG-AFTRA has long sought significant changes to compensation for acting work in the streaming era, defined by rapidly diminishing linear TV residuals and growing financial struggle for actors thanks to inflation and cost of living spikes.

Talks also have to resolve disputes over so-called “artificial intelligence” software — the guild is seeking strict limits on their use, as well as guarantees that acting jobs, particularly entry level workers such as extras, won’t be replaced by it.

While talks this week have so far gone well, the industry is fast-approaching a critical juncture. A studio insider told TheWrap this week that AMPTP leaders are considering a return to brinksmanship negotiations if there’s not a deal by Halloween.

In that event, according to the insider, AMPTP may walk away from talks yet again, with January being the earliest they’d consider returning. At minimum it would effectively ensure there will not be a normal 2023-2024 season for scripted television programs, and likely Hollywood business would halt again.

SAG-AFTRA’s lead negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, told TheWrap Thursday afternoon that the guild’s “laser-focus” is on the talks, and not on what he dismissed as “rumors and whisper campaigns.”

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