In a video taped Friday night and posted Saturday afternoon, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland updated members on the progress of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Drescher and Crabtree-Ireland said they “remain optimistic” about the progress of the new contract negotiations, which they say have been “extremely productive”.
“Tonight we’re not going to provide you with a lot of detailed reports because, frankly, it’s very confidential what’s going on out there. But I just want to assure you that we are having a very productive conversation that focuses on all the important issues that you told us are most important to you. And we’re standing firm and we’re going to get a significant deal,” Drescher said in part.
“We have very little time left before our contract expires. We’ve all been working long and hard to move these talks forward and we remain optimistic that we’ll be able to bring studios, networks and streamers together to strike a fair deal while respecting your contributions to the industry. Will be,” said Crabtree-Ireland. ,
Watch the clip at the top of the page now.
SAG-AFTRA began talks with the studio earlier this month; The Guild’s contract with AMPTP expires on June 30, and the WGA writers’ strike is nearing the end of its second month, so negotiations are on hold.
But unlike the WGA, SAG-AFTRA has not publicly released its demands, which are taking place under a complete media blackout. However, Drescher told TheWrap in May that the guild is looking for significant changes to the contract that reflect a greater emphasis on streaming, particularly in Hollywood.
So-called artificial intelligence is also expected to be a major topic in the SAG-AFTRA talks, as it was before talks between the AMPTP and the WGA broke down. “AI” is already being used to recreate the voices and likenesses of actors. In an interview last spring, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told The Wrap that SAG-AFTRA leaders believe it could benefit actors if properly regulated to ensure fair compensation and consent. Without it, display and parallelism cannot be used.
If the talks do not succeed, SAG-AFTRA may join the strike with the WGA; Earlier this month, members voted by an overwhelming 97% vote to authorize a strike ahead of contract negotiations. If this happens, the studio will face a simultaneous strike by two different unions for the first time since 1960, when a dual strike by writers and actors led to the establishment of remnants for TV reruns. SAG-AFTRA hasn’t had a strike since 1980.
