One down, and more to come.
That’s the word from SAG-AFTRA and studio CEOS after meeting officially Monday for the first time since the 160,000-strong guild went out of strike on July 14 – they plan to do it again.
“SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP met for a full day bargaining session and have concluded. Negotiations will resume Wednesday, October 4,” the two sides said this evening in a joint statement, reminiscent of the communication sent out from the WGA and the studios in their successful final round of negotiations last month.
Like today, the Wednesday meeting is being held at SAG-AFTRA’s Wilshire HQ and the CEO Gang of Four — NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Disney’s Bob Iger — are expected to be in attendance with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers president Carol Lombardini. Hosts SAG-AFTRA is represented by a team led by just re-elected union president Fran Drescher; National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland; and Ray Rodriguez, SAG-AFTRA’s longtime Chief Contracts Officer.
The initial deliberations after more than 80 days of official radio silence between the actors guild and the studios and streamers were said to be cordial and “useful,” according to a guild source close to events.
“These are professionals, they know the expectations,” the source added. “They obviously don’t agree on everything, but they agree they need to be talking. They know they have to try to get the town back to work — for everyone’s benefit.”
Another insider called the meeting today “constructive.”
Even with the tentative deal that the WGA have with the studios and streamers on some similar topics, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP have a number of unique issues to address.
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As both sides presented some of their “concerns,” as one insider put it, to each other for most of Monday’s meeting, the issue of revenue sharing still proved a sticking point. From the beginning of contract talks this summer, SAG-AFTRA has sought to set up a process by which cast members of hit streaming shows are rewarded financially for the success of a show. Despite the likes of the NFL, NBA and other major sports leagues utilizing such a process, the AMPTP has shot the revenue-sharing proposal down from nearly the moment the guild first floated it back in July. The studios view the matter as a non-starter, in no small part because they believe it is counter to the way profits and revenue actually circulate in the streaming era.
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The talks are being paused Tuesday so both sides can take some time to “process and analyze” what was put on the table Monday, says an individual close to events — a POV confirmed by others in the loop. In that vein, the parties are said to feel that both sides are treating the talks with the “care” and seriousness they deserve, we hear.
“Everyone wants to get a deal done, but it is going to take three or four weeks,” one industry vet told us, picking up on what Deadline reported earlier today. “It won’t be as fast as WGA,” he noted as Writers Guild members once again were out on the picket lines Monday for a Day of Solidarity with SAG-AFTRA.
While there is optimism about progress, there is upset over feature and TV production being stalled from the studio and talent rep side. Last week Netflix tried to shoot B-roll on the Nicole Kidman limited series The Perfect Couple in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with SAG AFTRA pickets disrupting production.
Also, the continued lack of actors promoting movies is taking its toll at the box office with original movies such as The Creator and Dumb Money suffering greatly. Once the strike is over, there is anticipation that not only will ticket sales improve by actors giving event films another patina, but also more awards-worthy features could be programmed on the theatrical release schedule.
As the studios and SAG-AFTRA sat down to talk Monday, the WGA sent out ratification ballots for its 11,000-plus members to vote on their deal from today until 1 p.m. PT on October 9. With scribes back at work and their nearly five-month long strike over, the vote is anticipated to pass by a wide margin.