Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios have resumed, though the actors’ union stressed that both sides remain apart on key issues, including artificial intelligence.
After 116 days on strike, the union representing Hollywood’s 160,000 actors sent a response to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, countering several points in the deal the studios and streamers put forth by over the weekend, said four sources familiar with the discussions.
“Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiation Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement Monday.
The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new proposal is expected to push back against artificial intelligence protections, among other key issues. The AMPTP also represents NBC’s parent company, Comcast.
SAG-AFTRA said in a statement Saturday that it had received the “best and final offer” from the studios and streamers.
“We received an offer today from the AMPTP, which they characterized as their ‘Last, Best, and Final Offer,’” said the statement from SAG-AFTRA’s TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee. “We are reviewing it and considering our response within the context of the critical issues addressed in our proposals.”
The AMPTP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, nearly 5,000 actors signed a letter directed at SAG-AFTRA saying they would “rather go on strike than take a bad deal.” The letter, which was written by some of the union’s strike captains and published late Thursday, was obtained by NBC News.
It reads, in part, “Back in June, before we went on strike, a large group of members signed an open letter telling our leaders that we would rather go on strike than take a bad deal.”
The actors’ strike has left thousands of people out of work and cost the California economy more than $5 billion.
