SAG-AFTRA members and supporters demonstrate outside Disney Studios on the 111th day of their strike against Hollywood Studios in Burbank, California, November 1, 2023.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Hollywood remains in limbo Thursday when negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are scheduled to resume.
The parties were still in negotiations as of Wednesday evening, discussing AI – which has emerged as a sticking point in finalizing these contract negotiations – and other topics, a union source said. As with previous hearings this week, Hollywood CEOs were absent from the talks, which were led on the management side by AMPTP President Carol Lombardini.
“Things are still moving, but slowly,” a studio source said when reached Wednesday.
SAG-AFTRA also wrote in a message to its members following Wednesday’s talks: “The Negotiating Committee met today to discuss and finalize our response to the AMPTP AI counterproposal we received yesterday.” Negotiators then met with AMPTP representatives for more than three hours this afternoon and evening to present and review our revised proposal. We continue to await the AMPTP’s response to our comprehensive counter-proposal package that we presented to them on Saturday, which addresses outstanding issues.”
On Tuesday, an agreement appeared to be in sight, although questions remained, including restrictions on the use of AI by entertainment companies. That day, a studio source indicated that it could take a few days to reach an agreement on the remaining contract items on the table, while several prominent actors said they had been told that a tentative agreement could be reached soon .
On Wednesday morning before negotiations began at 11:30 a.m., members of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee, as well as President Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, joined a crowded “Unity Picket” at Disney Studios in Burbank. Picketers chanted “One day longer/One day stronger” as they marched in front of Disney’s main gate with signs reading “Your offer was bananas!” BANANAS!” and “Bxtch Betta Have My MONEY.”
In a video message shared on social media by SAG-AFTRA, Crabtree-Ireland emphasized that members of other entertainment unions such as IATSE and Teamsters also showed up. “Everyone out here is supporting us today and sending a message to these companies that they need to get it over the finish line and get a fair deal with us,” he said.
In her own video message on social media on Wednesday, Drescher addressed her negotiating style after reports surfaced that she attended negotiations with a heart-shaped plush doll. “I can be exactly who I am, I can lead with intellect, I can lead with wisdom, I can lead with empathy, I can be myself,” she explained. “I can guide and still hold a little stuffed animal shaped like a heart that I call ‘love’.”
Kim Masters contributed reporting.