As reported earlier today, SAG-AFTRA failed to come to an agreement with AMPTP, leading to a contract lapse and despite an extension to this communication, nothing further has come of it. As such, the labor union has issued a strike on all projects associated with AMPTP in some way until their demands are met.
Their guidelines are pretty strict, requiring all SAG-AFTRA members to refrain from not just working on these projects, but even not doing interviews, attending premieres, award shows, film festivals, or conventions, or even promoting completed work on social media if the project was covered under its contract.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher put on blast the hundreds of millions that CEOs make even when major media companies falter.
“If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in jeopardy. You cannot change the business model as much as it has been changed and not expect the contract to change too,” she said. “I cannot believe … how [the studios] plead poverty, that they are losing money left and right, when they give hundreds of millions to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them.”
According to Variety, AMPTP, on the other hand, argued that it did present a better deal that included “historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, and a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members.”
It also called SAG-AFTRA out for putting hundreds of thousands of actors into potential financial hardships with these strict rules.
This is also a rather significant milestone as this would mark the second time in history — the last time being in the 1960s — that both the actors and writers are taking a stance and striking at the same time. The writers, though, have been on strike for two months now with no end in sight.
Both parties have issues with the prominent rise in streaming and AI advancements seen over the last few years.
Gabriel enjoys all things entertainment from writing about video games as the Managing Editor for PSX Extreme to covering the latest film and TV news for his own publication — Early Reel. Follow him on X.