Hopes of normalcy returning to Hollywood were high after the writers strike came to an end following the deal between WGA and AMPTP. But in a recent development, the negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the producers have been suspended because of the huge divide between the demands and what studios were ready to offer. The AMPTP said that the talks were no longer heading in any “productive direction” and hence they were suspended.
SAG-AFTRA has alleged that the offer presented by the producers was worth less than what they had offered even before the strike. Among the issues over which there couldn’t be a consensus are streaming revenue sharing, protection from the use of AI and residual income.
AMPTP has said that the proposed revenue sharing model of SAG-AFTRA would cost studios an additional $800 million a year. The actor’s union has alleged that studios have overestimated this cost by 60 percent.
What it means for the film industry is that normalcy is still nowhere in sight. SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for the last 3 months. The WGA strike came to a successful deal only after 5 months of negotiations. Considering that, it won’t be a surprise if this passivity within Hollywood sustains for a few more months.
