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EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said as much on the picket lines today, and now it appears that “cautious optimism,” as an insider also noted Thursday, has become the general term for the state of talks between the guild and the guild has become studios.
With that in mind, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP have agreed to meet again on Friday, October 27th, we understand. Today’s negotiations ended after almost five hours.
Since there were no direct discussions yesterday, the core of Wednesday’s deliberations was SAG-AFTRA’s response to the AMPTP’s latest offer on Oct. 24, higher bonuses based on the success of streaming shows and movies, and an increase in minimum tariffs to be provided. Based on their highly competitive contract with the Writers Guild, the studios had proposed a 7% increase in minimum requirements. The guild, which has discussed an 11% increase, is understood to have recognized the tactical importance of the move and offered a compromise that narrows the gap between the two.
The ideas the guild countered with on Thursday have “evolved,” as a studio source put it.
This could be a good sign since SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for 105 days now. With production stalled due to labor action by the guild and the now-defunct WGA, and 2024 schedules for theaters large and small looking shaky, the summer of Hollywood strikes had cost the Southern California economy an estimated $6.5 billion in losses of 45,000 jobs.
However, another studio source doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse, telling Deadline that “nothing was resolved” in the room today.
Still, President Fran Drescher, Crabtree-Ireland and other guild leaders were back at the negotiating table on Thursday for the second day of negotiations, after stepping back from scheduled deliberations on October 25 “to thoroughly examine the new AMPTP proposal.” last round of talks. As was the case in the final days of the WGA talks and SAG-AFTRA negotiations earlier this month and on October 24, Disney’s Bob Iger, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, as well as AMPTP president, were in attendance Carol Lombardini added.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Fran Drescher, Ted Sarandos, Bob Iger, David Zaslav and Donna Langley Getty/Courtesy
With that in mind, and with the return of the somber chorus of outside industry figures, today’s meeting between the CEOs and the SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee began a little later than usual. The meeting at the Actors Guild offices on Wilshire Blvd didn’t begin until around noon to synchronize everyone’s schedules. With a slightly open morning, SAG-AFTRA’s Crabtree-Ireland took the opportunity to jump on the picket line at Paramount to march with members. He’s “cautiously optimistic,” telling Deadline on Thursday, “We’re 100% focused on getting a fair deal at the table.”
It looks like everyone relevant to ending this strike will be at this table for at least another day.