SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) will resume bargaining tomorrow, Friday 6th October, following a full day of bargaining on Wednesday, October 5th.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and AMPTP resumed talks this week, following which they released a joint statement announcing that talks are to continue on Friday 6th October, and Monday 9th October.
The statement reads as follows: “SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP met for a full day bargaining session and have concluded. Negotiations will continue on Friday, Oct. 6, with the parties working internally over the weekend, resuming Monday Oct 9.”
These talks follow the WGA and AMPTP reaching a tentative new deal after a writer’s strike that lasted 146 days. SAG-AFTRA are seeking a new three-year deal with many priorities in common with that of the WGA’s deal, such as protection from advancements in AI technology and increased profit share from streaming revenue.
Residuals for actors have changed in the age of streaming. "I don't get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad, if we're being totally honest, and that's insane to me,” stated Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul on the SAG-AFTRA picket line earlier this year. "I just saw the other day that Breaking Bad was trending on Netflix. I think a lot of these streamers, they know that they have been getting away with not paying people a fair wage, and now it's time to pony up.”
83 days into the actor’s strike, it remains to be seen whether or not renewed discussions will lead to a new deal.
SAG-AFTRA executive vice president Duncan Crabtree Ireland and SAG-AFTRA union president Fran Drescher are representing the guild in these talks. AMPTP president Carol Lombardini is representing the producers, and she is joined by NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav.
