SAG-AFTRA Says It’s Ready on Studio Responses to Newest Proposals Amid Negotiations

SAG-AFTRA says it’s ready on Hollywood studios to answer a number of proposals as negotiations over a brand new three-year labor contract proceed.

The union beforehand acknowledged that it had despatched its newest AI proposal to the studio facet on Wednesday and a “complete” proposal bundle on Saturday; as of Thursday night, union negotiators had been nonetheless awaiting responses, in response to the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee.

“The Negotiating Committee was on standby right this moment awaiting a response from the AMPTP on each the AI counter we introduced yesterday, and the excellent counter proposal we handed throughout the desk 5 days in the past,” the committee mentioned in a press release to members Thursday evening.

“The ball is solely of their courtroom,” added one union-side supply. In keeping with the negotiating committee, work will resume on the contract on Friday.

On Wednesday the union responded to the businesses’ newest provide on how one can regulate AI, assembly with management-side negotiators for “greater than three hours” to go over the small print of their proposal, its negotiating workforce advised members. The events have gone backwards and forwards over AI proposals, which began out on the union facet as a four-page proposal within the union’s Interim Settlement and has gotten for much longer within the meantime.

On the identical time, “We proceed to await the AMPTP’s response to our complete counter proposal bundle which we gave them on Saturday, addressing excellent points,” the union’s negotiating committee told members on Wednesday evening. The group additionally inspired members to proceed to point out as much as the picket traces and help the union on social media.

In the meantime, the results of the 112-day strike proceed to ripple all through the business. On Wednesday, as HBO introduced that The White Lotus season three, Euphoria season three and Welcome to Derry had all been pushed to 2025, whereas The Penguin has been pushed to mid- to late 2024. HBO chief Casey Bloys mentioned that the eventual finish to the strikes will have an effect on the prices of programming. Nonetheless, “I feel the larger impression on this surroundings is dictated extra by what’s the appropriate sum of money to spend in streaming, how do you earn cash in that, versus prices have gone up X %,” he mentioned.

On Wednesday Paramount World reported “practically $60 million of strike-related idle prices” through the former Writers Guild of America strike and the present SAG-AFTRA stoppage in its newest quarter. Added CFO Naveen Chopra, “These are incremental bills incurred to retain manufacturing capabilities whereas the strike is ongoing.”