SAG-AFTRA Accuses Studios of "Bully Tactics" as Talks Suspended

[Sedona]

Last edited Thu Oct 12, 2023, 05:23 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Headline at 4am Studios Say SAG-AFTRA Talks Suspended: Gap Between Parties Is "Too Great"




"Negotiations between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA have been suspended after SAG-AFTRA presented its most recent proposal on October 11," the trade association representing studios and streamers in negotiations said in a press release on Wednesday night. "After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction."

In the message, the AMPTP singled out the union's proposal for casts to receive a cut of streaming platform revenue as "an untenable economic burden" that would cost more than $800 million per year. The trade association also referred to "numerous remaining open items" but did not explicitly state which ones those might be. When the two parties restarted negotiations on Oct. 2, they still had yet to come to terms on AI regulations and minimum wage rates, among other issues.

The development came after the fifth day of negotiations between the union and studios and streamers since SAG-AFTRA initially went on strike on July 14. During the renewed talks, which took place at SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles headquarters and which was attended by studio heads including Netflix's Ted Sarandos, Disney's Bob Iger, NBCUniversal's Donna Langley and Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav, the union's streaming revenue proposal remained a major sticking point, per sources.

In its missive, the AMPTP presented what it said was the studios' latest offer to the performers' union. Among the offerings, it said, was a "success-based residual" for high-budget SVOD titles, which is what the Writers Guild of America cinched in its latest negotiations. Also included were issues that SAG-AFTRA has been looking to make headway on for years: an increase to pension and health contribution caps, between 22 and 33 percent, and the incorporation of performance capture work in SAG-AFTRA's TV/theatrical agreement. The AMPTP said it had offered the same minimum rate increases that it had offered the DGA and WGA (5 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent over the course of the contract) and the AMPTP additionally touted that it suggested "a 76% increase in High Budget SVOD foreign residuals for the four largest streaming services," which suggests that the group offered SAG-AFTRA the foreign residuals formula that the Directors Guild of America and WGA received in their contract negotiations.


Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sag-aftra-talks-suspended-studios-say-1235616218/

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This is devastating. Mr Sedona works for a motion picture vendor and has been unemployed since mid July.

He is among hundreds of thousands of workers, below the line and who provide goods and services to the motion picture industry and have been left unemployed for months.

Waiting to see what the actors have to say for themselves. This looks like the same deal the writers and directors got.

[Roy Rolling]

2. Tail

The “tail” of residuals for streaming revenue is too great. Actors receiving $1 checks for reruns of TV’s “Alice” is unbeneficial to actors and an accounting nightmare for producers.

When we had three networks and a few independent stations broadcasting reruns that method worked great. That same model doesn’t work in 2023, so the farther away negotiations move from mimicking the old ways the better.

Table the streaming revenue issue and sign an agreement for everything else. People need to get back to work now and the optics of this are terrible since the WGA has already ratified a contract.

Speed it up SAG/AFTRA. Don’t try the patience of the entire industry.

[BaronChocula]

3. Hey AMPTP

Think of it this way; when I binge and rebinge shows I love it's not because I love the studio execs who think it's their job to make a higher salary than all of their peers. It's because of the performers and the writing. Studio execs are not what people tune in to see. So it's not costing the industry $800 million a year to pay the cast a cut of the streaming platform. That's $800 million earned by the creative artists. And after paying out that well-deserved $800 million the industry will still make tens of billions of dollars a year. If this is untenable, Industry needs better bookkeepers.

[LastDemocratInSC]

6. Geez, even Abraham Lincoln had an opinion on this.

“Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”

https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/jala/article/id/2297/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CCapital%20is%20only%20the%20fruit,deserves%20much%20the%20higher%20consideration.%E2%80%9D

[BaronChocula]

9. Well this is a timely quote

I should spread it far and wide. Let's see them call the first Republican prez a commie.

[highplainsdem]

8. +1,000,000

[Sedona]

4. SAG-AFTRA RESPONSE Updated at 5am

Early Thursday morning, SAG-AFTRA shot back at the AMPTP, telling members that the studios walked away from talks with the union and accused them of using “bully tactics.” “[The studios] intentionally misrepresented to the press the cost of the above proposal – overstating it by 60 percent,” the message to union members said. “They have done the same with A.I., claiming to protect performer consent, but continuing to demand “consent” on the first day of employment for use of a performer’s digital replica for an entire cinematic universe (or any franchise project).”

The SAG-AFTRA message added, “The companies are using the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA – putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators. But, just like the writers, our members are smarter than that and will not be fooled.”

[Fresh Water Falling]

5. Another Strike?

That's all I want to know.

[Sedona]

7. Two unions were striking

Writers settled, actors still in negotiations