Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra claimed the AMPTP offer to the actors’ union was “the best offer ever made to the SAG-AFTRA group.”
In a lengthy fireside chat at the Audio-Visual Producers Summit in Italy, Vinciquerra said he was “dismayed” by the labor strikes in LA, adding, “We don’t want the strikes to continue. It’s not good for anyone.”
Throughout the chat, he reiterated several times that the studios “wanted to strike a deal.”
“We entered the talks with the intention of reaching an agreement,” he said. “There have been a lot of headlines claiming otherwise, but that’s not true. We want to get this done and we want to get back into negotiations… We need to get this sorted out. We want to get back to the table.”
Last month, SAG-AFTRA claimed that the AMPTP, which represents the studios and streamers, “would not meaningfully engage in the most critical issues,” we reported. The AMPTP responded by stating that the SAG had “mischaracterized”.[d] the negotiations.”
Asked if he expects production levels in Europe to increase while the strikes continue, Vinciquerra said: “The natural thing that has happened is that European production is increasing, but we haven’t seen anything tangible yet.” [in regards to the strike].”
Since the actors’ strike began, many European producers have been examining, over the days, weeks and months, whether their projects could find American partners.
Tarek Ben Ammar, CEO of Eagle Pictures Entertainment, who was also a guest on the chat, said the strikes would not result in European productions “filling the gap” because “those films are not on the schedule.” [U.S.] market anyway.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Vinciquerra announced that Sony’s box office earnings for the 12 months beginning in March 2023 are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. “We’re going to be very close to 2019 numbers again, which is great,” he said.
This year has seen Spider-Man: Across the SpiderverseJennifer Lawrence comedy No hard feelings and horror Insidious: The Red Door perform well in the summer. The “Barbieheimer” phenomenon seems to have helped here Barbie And Oppenheimer Although the media and entertainment industry is suffering from a downturn in the advertising market, there is a feeling that films could regain global attention as they post strong box office results this week.
Vinciquerra added he was “very happy” with the weekend’s prospects thanks to Barbieheimer and said that overall it was good for business despite the films being on the list of contenders. “It’s time to urge people to come back to theaters,” he added.
He pointed out that the devastating effects of Covid-19 had left Italian cinemagoers reluctant to return – local box offices were struggling – but hoped the quality of the releases would change their minds. “We hope to attract people to theaters by offering great products,” he said.