The alliance of movie studios, or AMPTP, go into hardball mode ahead of crunch talks later today over the actors’ strike.
It had just begun to look like things were progressing nicely again. Talks between the striking actors and studios had resumed after breaking down in acrimony a couple of weeks ago. The negotiating team for the actors’ guild even asked for a day away from talks yesterday (26th October 2023) to give further consideration to the alliance of studios’ latest offer.
Although tentative, it looked like green shoots were forming and optimism was beginning to grow that a deal might be reached.
However, according to The Wrap, the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ) has decided to pour a fair amount of fuel on the fire by giving the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, until the end of next week to strike a deal or they won’t return to the negotiating table until January.
If that report is accurate, then it puts a huge amount of pressure on SAG-AFTRA’s leadership, given that several A-List actors came out collectively last week to express their discontent with the length of the strike (even if they did so in a PR-friendly way by offering to donate $150m that they knew the guild couldn’t accept).
With their membership not liking the idea of being prevented from working into the new year, it certainly makes things tricky for the guild’s leadership. That said, it’s conceivable that trying to back their opponents into a corner like this could just as easily backfire on the studios. Now this deadline has gone public, SAG-AFTRA’s leadership will not be satisfied by the public perception that they’ve been pushed into an agreement as it will surely reflect poorly on the way that deal is evaluated.
Apparently, the AMPTP’s justification is all to do with scheduling for the new year, with early November being a key cut-off point. Whatever happens next, it seems like things are coming to a head, one way or another. We’ll keep you posted.
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