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EXCLUSIVE: A deal may not be in the cards tonight, but SAG-AFTRA and the studios could begin negotiating again within hours.
We understand the two sides hope to speak later today and possibly into the night.
According to a guild source, no official meetings have been arranged yet, but they expect to set a date “very soon.”
It is currently unclear whether the CEO Gang of Four – NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav, Disney’s Bob Iger and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos – will take part in these new talks, which are reportedly also attended by the guild’s chief negotiator , Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and AMPTP President Carol Lombardini.
This possible latest collapse came as the striking actors’ guild sent back a response earlier Monday to what it called the AMPTP’s Nov. 3 “last, best and final” offer.
That response was “measured,” as a guild member close to the talks tells us on this 116th day of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The guild spent most of the weekend “reviewing” the studios’ several-hundred-page proposal — a proposal that represents a response to SAG-AFTRA’s “comprehensive counterproposal” in late October.
“Everyone knows where everyone stands,” a studio insider told Deadline this afternoon. “Now it’s about bringing it home if we can,” he added optimistically. Despite the threatening tone of the studio’s latest offer, the tactic never really ruled out talks between the two sides continuing into this week.
According to a source, the studio’s offer for SAG-AFTRA contains “a lot to digest.” Details reportedly include the highest pay increases for actors in 40 years. Additionally, there was a 100 percent increase in performance compensation bonuses for high-quality budget streaming series and movies in the AMPTP package, which a boatload of CEOs received on April 4th. November in a short Zoom call to inform the guild leadership. Perhaps the crown jewel in the studios’ package is the so-called “full” AI protection. Along with health and pension contributions and more, executives believe their offer was “far in line with SAG’s wishes,” an industry source reported over the weekend.
Or as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told SAG-AFTRA executives on Saturday, “We didn’t just come to you, we came all the way to you.” If the executives thought they were over that by now When they reached the finish line, they were obviously disappointed. A studio insider who was expecting a deal last night told us they had to cancel a planned production that was ramping up today.
You’ll recall that it’s difficult for TV and feature film productions to shoot even after the writers’ strike ends: SAG-AFTRA pickets were out in full force to support a B-roll shoot with extras from the limited Netflix film. “Nicole Kidman” series will end The Perfect Couple in Nantucket on September 28th. It doesn’t matter where Hollywood shoots; The guild will keep them in check. The problem with The Perfect Couple was that they used non-guild members as on-camera extras; This was a big no-no for local Massachusetts union actors.
It is estimated that the combination of the now resolved WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has cost the California economy over $6.5 billion to date. As guild members banded together but felt financial constraints, another side effect of the near-total shutdown of production was the loss of 45,000 jobs in the entertainment industry.
If a new deal goes through, the question of how quickly actors can get back to work promoting new TV series and films remains a game-changer. Given SAG-AFTRA’s size of 160,000 members, it is believed that returning actors to work during the contract ratification period may not be as feasible as it was for the 12,000-member WGA, who returned before the final vote on their new contract.
On a related note, SAG-AFTRA members and their allies were out in droves today outside studio lots and offices in Los Angeles and New York, with nearly a week of picketing currently planned. This week, two of the top CEOs will also face scrutiny from Wall Street as both Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney release their latest quarterly results and their plans for the new year. After depreciation and cost savings due to the lack of production costs due to the strike-related production losses, these fourth quarter reports could reveal some harsh realities for companies.