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Proposed No-Consent Use of Dead, Scanned Actors Holds Up SAG-AFTRA Talks [1]
['Ryan Schwartz']
Date: 2023-11-07 15:15:00+00:00
The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remain at an impasse on Day 116 of SAG-AFTRA strike.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, SAG-AFTRA is pushing back on the AMPTP’s latest proposal — a so-called “last, best and final offer” which includes an artificial intelligence clause granting studios and streamers the ability to use scans of deceased performers without the consent of their estate or the guild.
“This morning, our negotiators formally responded to the AMPTP’s ‘last, best & final’ offer,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement Monday evening. “Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly.
“There are several essential items on which we still do not have an agreement, including AI,” the statement continued. “We will keep you informed as events unfold.”
Negotiations are expected to resume Tuesday.
Members of SAG-AFTRA — the labor union representing more than 160,000 performers — have been on strike since July 13, after more than a month of contract negotiations between the guild and the AMPTP ended without agreement on a new deal. Among the key issues on the table were streaming residuals, artificial intelligence and pension and health contributions.
In early October, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP resumed negotiations, only for talks to break down on Oct. 12 after the studios cited a gap “too great” between the two sides and walked away from the bargaining table. At the time, SAG-AFTRA said in a statement that the AMPTP used “bully tactics” during negotiations and was “putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators.”
SAG-AFTRA’s desire for a share of streaming revenue for all union-covered shows was an especially thorny topic, with the AMPTP alleging that the guild’s proposal would cost more than $800 million a year and create “an untenable economic burden.” SAG-AFTRA later countered that its revenue share proposal “would cost the companies less than 57 cents per subscriber each year,” adding that the studios have “intentionally misrepresented to the press the cost of the above proposal – overstating it by 60%.”
Negotiations then picked back up on Oct. 24.
The writers’ strike, meanwhile, unofficially ended on Sept. 27 after WGA leadership voted the previous day to end the strike and send its members back to work. The strike’s formal conclusion followed on Oct. 9, when 99% of WGA members voted in favor of ratifying a new contract with the AMPTP. The new deal will remain in place through May 1, 2026.
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[1] Url:
https://tvline.com/news/sag-aftra-strike-update-artificial-intelligence-ai-dead-actors-latest-1235076449/
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