On Wednesday, Talks between studios and Hollywood actors over a continuous strike were suspended, in a blow to expectancies for a quick end to a situation that has crippled the entertainment industry.
Since last week, Heads of studios such as Disney and Netflix have been meeting regularly with negotiators for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), whose members walked off film and TV sets in July.
But in a statement that was issued late Wednesday, the studios said discussions had ground to a halt and would be temporarily suspended.
The studios said, “After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction.”
The studios are represented at talks by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The AMPTP struck a deal with Hollywood writers last month, ending that union’s own lengthy and largely concurrent strike.
Given that deal, and overlaps between SAG-AFTRA’s needs and those of the writers, optimism had been expanding that a deal with the actors could be struck soon, too.
Even with writers now back to work, most film and TV productions cannot continue until the needs of SAG-AFTRA are resolved, costing the entertainment industry and its workers millions of dollars each day.
The AMPTP accused in Wednesday’s statement actors of making excessive demands, including for a share of revenues from hit streaming shows that “by itself, would cost more than $800 million per year.”
Studios defined that as an “untenable economic burden.”
They also blamed SAG-AFTRA for rejecting parallel wage growths that had been accepted by the writers’ and directors’ unions earlier this year.
The studios said, “We hope that SAG-AFTRA will reconsider and return to productive negotiations soon.”
SAG-AFTRA did not immediately comment.
Like the writers, actors have called for enhanced wages, greater transparency over profits from hit streaming shows, and protections against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
SAG-AFTRA wage demands go further than those of the writers.
Their worries about the danger posed to them by AI also arguably run deeper.
Actors worry that the technology could be used to clone their voices and likenesses and reuse them in perpetuity without payment or permission.
