SAG-AFTRA & AMPTP End Talks For Day, Will Resume Negotiations Tuesday

 SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP ended a long bargaining session that started Monday afternoon and are set to resume negotiations on Tuesday, the 117th day of the strike. However, no definite time has been set yet.

The meeting was a held virtually with the CEO Gang of Four joining AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini and SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, among others. 

Netflix‘s Ted Sarandos, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Disney’s Bob Iger have all been participating in talks directly on and off since the latest round of negotiations began on October 24. The latter two of that quartet may be feeling a bit more pressure than usual with their respective companies’ quarterly earnings reports out later this week.

“This was a productive session, some work still required before there’s a deal,” a studio insider said in a statement of the gathering, which followed the guild’s response earlier in the day to the studios’ so-called “best, last and final offer” of last week. 

“There’s still some serious daylight between us, at least as of right now,” the insider added. 

As has been the case for months, AI remains one of the major issues that divides the two sides. The studios are looking to seal the deal with what one source called “an expanded version of what the WGA agreed to,” while the guild wants project-specific protections on scans of performers and re-use of their likenesses. 

Well-positioned sources on both sides admit that part of the problem is coming up with effective guardrails for a technology that is evolving in leaps and bounds. 

As the back and forth between SAG-AFTRA and the studios continues Monday, an end to the 116-day actors strike may not be imminent.

“There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI,” the guild said in a letter to members in the last hour. “We will keep you informed as events unfold.

Here’s the full letter:

Dear Member,

This morning our negotiators formally responded to the AMPTP’s “Last, Best & Final” offer.

Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly.

There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI. We will keep you informed as events unfold.

In solidarity and gratitude,

Your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee

The letter follows the guild delivering their response to the studios’ “last, best & final” offer on a new TV and movie contract earlier in the day. As Deadline reported, the parties are scheduling new negotiations which could begin as soon as this evening.

AI has been one of the primary sticking points between the sides since the beginning of their initial talks in June. Since that time, the technology has evolved so rapidly that there are questions on both sides as to how many protections could actually be put into a new three-year deal.

“It’s not bulletproof, everyone has to recognize that,” a studio executive said about any potential AI agreement. With IATSE and Teamsters negotiations coming next year, the exec noted that it’s just a matter of months before studios will be back in deliberations with the likes of the DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA on the next three-year contract.