Summary
- SAG-AFTRA has received a new offer from studios, termed as their “Last, Best, and Final Offer.”
- The actors guild is currently reviewing and considering their response to the offer.
- SAG-AFTRA aims to address their concerns before accepting the offer from the studios.
With over three months already under their belts, SAG-AFTRA has been presented with a deal from studios said to be the “Last, Best, and Final Offer.” The actors guild has been on strike since July, starting shortly after the Writers Guild of America, in the hopes of fighting for better pay for their members and establish a more structured system to determine residuals from streaming platforms. SAG-AFTRA is also fighting for the prevention of further AI implementation in productions, wanting to ensure actors aren’t replaced by digital recreations.
After a week of negotiations between the two groups, the official SAG-AFTRA Twitter account has offered an update on their strike talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The post, as seen above, reveals that the actors guild have been presented with a new offer from the studios, which is being characterized as their “Last, Best, and Final Offer.” SAG-AFTRA is not jumping on this just yet, however, with the post also confirming that they are “reviewing and considering” how they will respond to the offer in regard to whether it satisfies their various concerns.
Will This Really Be The Final Offer & Will SAG-AFTRA Accept?
Across the three months of strikes, SAG-AFTRA have entered multiple negotiations with studios for a potential deal to bring it to a close, with the first month of strikes even seeing an offer made to the guild, only to be rejected for unacceptable terms. The following months have seemingly seen little progress made between the two groups, save for interim agreements being made for some productions and promotional campaigns, including the recent Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes agreement, the biggest thus far.
Given recent reports have indicated that deal talks were in the “final stretch” prior to SAG-AFTRA’s latest update, it would seem like both groups are nearly on the same page for how best to move forward with one another, especially after the WGA’s strike ending. An update from Variety on the heels of the guilds’ announcement offered further insight on the reported “final” offer’s details, which is said to include bigger residual bonuses for actors with projects on streaming platforms, including those a part of the most-watched shows getting double their standard residual rates.
Over a dozen movies have been delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, including Disney’s live-action Snow White remake, Universal’s live-action How To Train Your Dragon remake and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 8.
The other major element said to be included in the new deal offered to SAG-AFTRA is “comprehensive protections on artificial intelligence,” with minimum payments also said to be the highest increase for the guild in the past 40 years. While the guilds’ announcement that they are not accepting the offer just yet could be seen as an indication that it’s still not up to the standards they’re currently pushing for, the weekend-set meeting makes it seem more likely that they simply want to ensure every member gets the chance to look over the proposed terms and voice their opinions before moving forward.
Sources: SAG-AFTRA/Twitter & Variety