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Hollywood will remain in suspense Thursday when the negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are set to continue.
The parties were still in negotiations as of Wednesday evening, talking about AI — which has proved to be a sticking point in the denouement of these contract talks — and other topics, said a union-side source. As in previous bargaining dates this week, Hollywood CEOs were not present for the talks, which were led on the management side by AMPTP President Carol Lombardini.
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“Things are still moving but slow,” said one studio-side source when reached Wednesday.
SAG-AFTRA also wrote in a message to its members following talks Wednesday, “The Negotiating Committee met today to discuss and finalize our response to the AMPTP AI counter-proposal which we received yesterday. The negotiators then met with AMPTP representatives for more than three hours this afternoon and evening to present and review our revised proposal. We continue to await the AMPTP’s response to our comprehensive counter-proposal package which we gave them on Saturday, addressing outstanding issues.”
As of Tuesday, a deal seemed to be in sight even as issues remained, including guardrails on entertainment companies’ uses of AI. That day, one studio-side source noted that it could take a few days to come to a resolution on the remaining deal points on the table, while multiple prominent actors said they had been told that a tentative agreement could soon be reached.
Wednesday morning prior to negotiations starting at 11:30 a.m., members of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee, as well as President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, joined a crowded “Unity Picket” at Disney Studios in Burbank. Picketers chanted “one day longer / one day stronger” as they marched in front of the Disney main gate with signs reading “Your offer was bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!” and “Bitch Betta Have My MONEY.”
In a video message shared on SAG-AFTRA’s social media, Crabtree-Ireland emphasized that members of other entertainment unions, like IATSE and the Teamsters, had shown up as well. “Everybody is out here supporting us today and sending a message to these companies that they have to bring it across the finish line and make a fair deal with us,” he said.
In her own video message on social media Wednesday, Drescher addressed her negotiating style after reports emerged that she attended negotiations with a plush, heart-shaped doll. “I can be exactly who I am, I can lead with intellect, I can lead with wisdom, I can lead with empathy, I can be me,” she stated. “I can lead and still hold on to a little plush toy in the shape of a heart that I call ‘love.’”
Kim Masters contributed reporting.
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