SAG-AFTRA and the studios have finally called it a night on the latest talks in search of a new three-year contract.
In the past 30 minutes or so, the actors union and the AMPTP ended a long bargaining session that started this afternoon. The thinking is they will resume negotiations on Tuesday, the 117th day of the strike. However, at this late hour, no definite time has been set yet.
The evening’s gathering took the form of a virtual meeting, with the CEO Gang of Four, including Ted Sarandos from Netflix, Donna Langley from NBCUniversal, David Zaslav from Warner Bros Discovery, and Bob Iger from Disney, engaging in discussions alongside AMPTP head Carol Lombardini and SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, among other participants. These talks have been ongoing directly and intermittently since the latest round of negotiations commenced on October 24. Notably, Bob Iger and David Zaslav may be experiencing heightened pressure this time, as their respective companies are scheduled to release their quarterly earnings reports later this week.
Nonetheless, it’s clear that all parties involved are cognizant of the significance of the matter for the entire industry, according to our sources. the studios have finally
A studio insider shared with Deadline tonight that the gathering was productive, but there’s still more work to be done before reaching an agreement. This meeting followed the guild’s response earlier in the day to the studios’ “best, last, and final offer” from last week. As of the current moment, there are still notable differences in the positions of the two sides that need to be addressed.
AI continues to be a significant point of contention between the two parties, as it has been for several months. The studios are aiming to finalize an agreement resembling “an expanded version of what the WGA agreed to,” according to one source. In contrast, the guild is pushing for project-specific protections related to scans of performers and the reuse of their likenesses. Well-informed sources on both sides acknowledge that part of the challenge lies in establishing effective safeguards for a rapidly evolving technology.