SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on Friday laid out how the actors’ 118-day strike was ended and their thoughts on the deal with the AMPTP.
30.10.2023 - 18:57 / variety.com
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Progress has been made toward ending the SAG-AFTRA strike in recent days, but “a lot” of issues are still on the table, the union’s chief negotiator said Monday morning. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator and executive director of the guild, made an appearance at the Disney picket lines. In an interview outside the studio gates, he would not hazard a guess as to when the strike will be over.
“I think that depends on the mindset that everybody brings to the table this week,” he said. “I certainly hope we can move things forward quickly, but there are important issues that are still open, and until they’re done, there’s no deal.” The union communicated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Saturday and Sunday. The two sides are expected to talk later on Monday about how to proceed with bargaining this week.
“There has been progress, and that’s the source of my continued cautious optimism,” Crabtree-Ireland said. Among the issues still to be resolved is artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA wants to put boundaries around the use of AI to recreate performers’ likenesses, including consent and a minimum compensation floor for such use.
The union has also said that it is seeking to limit AI consent to a single project, but that the studios continue to seek a consent that would cover multiple projects within the same franchise. “There are a number of big issues within the AI bucket that we’re currently working on,” Crabtree-Ireland said, citing the franchise consent issue as one where there has not been progress. But he stressed that AI is not the only thing holding up a deal.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on Friday laid out how the actors’ 118-day strike was ended and their thoughts on the deal with the AMPTP.
The actors are set to vote on the tentative agreement with the studios after the SAG-AFTRA national board approved the deal.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA had settled dozens of issues, ranging from pension and health contributions, to page limits for self-taped auditions, to pay for background actors. But there was still the small matter of zombies. The union was worried that studios could use artificial intelligence to reanimate dead actors, or to create a digital Frankenstein out of the body parts of real actors.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA‘s new contract is worth more than $1 billion over three years. But the union did not get one of its top priorities: a share of revenue from each streaming platform. Fran Drescher, the union president, made that her top priority, arguing it was essential to transform the contract to keep up with a transformed industry.
Ellise Shafer U.K. entertainment unions Bectu and Equity are celebrating the tentative agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP that is set to end the longest actors strike in Hollywood history. In an announcement on Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA said that the 118-day strike would officially end on Thursday at 12:01 a.m.
SAG-AFTRA is back to work after a successful strike!
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA negotiators have approved a tentative agreement that will end the longest actors strike against the film and TV studios in Hollywood history. In an announcement Wednesday, the union said the 118-day strike would officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA‘s top negotiator has never done this before. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has worked for the union for most of his adult life. In that time, he has become a master of the details.
The lead negotiators for SAG-AFTRA and the studios are set to meet later today in what could be the final phase to sealing a new deal and the end to the 117-day actors guild strike.
EXCLUSIVE: A deal may not be in the cards tonight, but SAG-AFTRA and the studios could be heading back to negotiations within hours.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA advised its members Monday night that negotiations will resume on Tuesday, but warned that the two sides remain “far apart” on key issues. The union and the major studios have been bargaining for a week, focusing on issues like increases in minimum payments, a new residual model in streaming, and artificial intelligence.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA leadership continued to bargain with the major studios on Sunday, but despite growing optimism around the industry, no deal has been reached yet. The union presented its latest proposal to the studios on Saturday. The two sides were said to be engaged in “productive” talks through the weekend.
EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP continued to communicate intermittently Sunday as they close in on possibly reaching a new deal that could end the 108-day strike.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher took to Instagram to express her condolences over the passing of Friends star Matthew Perry.
EXCLUSIVE: Sunday will not be a day of rest for SAG-AFTRA leadership and the studios this weekend.
EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said it on the picket lines earlier today, and now it seems that “cautious optimism,” as an insider also stated, has become the takeaway term Thursday for the state of talks between the guild and the studios.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer When it comes to life’s most difficult negotiations, sometimes you need a squishy friend by your side. That’s SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher’s policy for the contentious ongoing contract talks her union is embroiled in with Hollywood’s major film and TV studios.
SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP are back at the table today for more talks to resolve the actors strike that has been going on for over 100 days.
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Four CEOs are set to return to SAG-AFTRA headquarters on Tuesday with a new offer that they hope will break the stalemate in the 102-day actors strike. Among them will be Disney’s Bob Iger, who called SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, on Saturday to invite the actors back to the bargaining table. The CEOs — who also include David Zaslav of Warner Bros.
After over a week of silence, the actors union and the AMPTP are set to return to negotiations on Tuesday, Oct. 24.