It seems likely that the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) will possibly go on strike. This would be another instance of something that will rock the industry, as we’re still seeing the writer strike going strong two months later.
SAG-AFTRA was in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but no new deal was made by the deadline, according to TVLine. The two parties ended up with the contracts drying up back at the end of June but agreed to extend negotiations for two weeks.
The guild’s main hiccup appears to be negotiating with streaming residuals, pension and health contributions, and artificial intelligence, per Variety. AI has taken a prominent place in the entertainment space from film to writing to game development, it’s seen a surge of advancement over the last few years. But, some of the stuff that can be done with AI, like simulating voices often rubs actors and some regular viewers the wrong way.
Streaming residuals, meanwhile, is a hard sell for the AMPTP. Now more than ever, people have been omitting the theaters in favor of waiting for any particular film to hit one of the dozens of streaming platforms. Yet, very little extends to the actors.
SAG-AFTRA reps over 160,000 performers and should the guild go on strike, it would be the first time since the ’60s that both Hollywood actors and writers have been on strike together.
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.