For the first time in 43 years, Hollywood actors may be on the verge of a strike over major film and television deals.
SAG-AFTRA countries have already voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike if leaders cannot secure new film and television contracts that expire at midnight Friday.
It will be the first time a major studio has faced a simultaneous strike by actors and writers since 1960, when the actors and writers left on May 2 over a dispute over streaming fees.
SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood’s largest trade union representing about 160,000 performers, has been in negotiations since June 7 with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance, which is negotiating on behalf of studios.
Despite the tension, guild leaders said on Saturday that discussions with the studio had been “very productive.” However, key differences remain and unions are still under intense pressure from guild members to stay on the front lines in negotiations.
That was underscored this week when more than 300 actors signed a letter saying they were prepared to strike if unions were unable to strike a “transformative deal”.
A strike could go as early as Saturday, but the two sides could still agree to extend talks to give them more time to reach an agreement, the people said.
Here are four key issues the two countries are negotiating.
Streaming residuals and how they are calculated
Like writers, actors have long relied on leftover money (the fees collected when a TV show or movie is rerun after its initial release) to sustain life between jobs.
But the streaming era has upended the old payment models that existed when broadcast networks were the norm. Currently, streamers pay their remaining balance based on a fixed formula that neither reflects the international popularity of the show nor is fixed to the viewership metric.
Despite the proliferation of new shows on multiple streaming platforms, the actors claim these changes are dwindling their overall payouts.
“While new business models are monetizing more and more SAG-AFTRA content around the world, balance payments fail to reflect the economic value of this exhibition,” the union recently told members. rice field. “SAG-AFTRA strives to ensure that balance payments reflect the economic value of member contributions and are a meaningful source of income for performers.”
One of the main conundrums in the negotiations is what metrics will be used to measure how well shows perform on streaming platforms, and who will track the data. Critics have long complained about the lack of transparency around the show’s performance on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
SAG-AFTRA hopes that royalties will reflect the success of its most-watched shows. The union is also proposing to use third-party providers such as Parrot Analytics to track data in much the same way as Nielsen’s ratings, said the union, which was not authorized to comment, in the negotiations. a close source said.
But studios have resisted the proposal, arguing that ratings don’t necessarily lead to more viewership, and that streaming has led to a boom in new TV shows, giving actors more roles. there is Moreover, they argued, not all platforms are profitable.
cost of self taping
Actors share many of the same concerns with screenwriters and directors, but some issues are unique to their profession. That includes the burden of self-taped auditions.
One change during the COVID-19 pandemic was actors recording their auditions at home. This practice continues, and cast members unfortunately find self-taping to be time-consuming and expensive, having to learn too many pages of dialogue in a short period of time, and paying for auditions. It claims to be
SAG-AFTRA calls this trend “a huge and uncompensated daily burden on the lives of performers.” Unions want rules and restrictions on the use of self-tape auditions.
minimum pah
Actors are calling for a higher minimum wage to offset inflation, claiming changes in the way television is produced are making it harder to make a living.
The shift to streaming has left union members in financial trouble as series orders have been shortened and breaks between productions lengthened, union officials said.
“The continued growth of inflation and streaming calls for a major readjustment of the minimum wage,” more than 300 actors said in a letter to leaders Wednesday.
artificial Iintelligence
All major Hollywood unions have expressed concerns about the use and potential abuse of artificial intelligence.
SAG-AFTRA, in particular, has already said the technology poses a “real and imminent threat” to its members’ jobs, citing AI’s ability to mimic actors’ voices, likenesses and performances.
The union said it wanted to reach agreement on acceptable uses of the technology and ensure protection against its misuse. We also want to ensure that consent is secured and members are compensated not only when AI is used to generate new performances, but also when their work is used to program AI systems. there is
