Be strong! I'm with you 100%. You guys are special unicorns. If Hollywood can't appreciate your special gifts f-ck em I say. You go right back to waiting tables and hold your head high.
You can't walk the talk without clearing the plates. Wait, how does that go?
Hollywood Studios Suspend Talks With Actors
Coalition representing studios, streamers says talks are ‘no longer moving us in a productive direction’
By Joe Flint, WSJ
Updated Oct. 12, 2023 2:03 pm ET
Negotiations between Hollywood studios, streamers and striking actors stalled Wednesday after less than two weeks, dampening hopes that the industry could soon return to work.
The coalition representing entertainment-industry companies including Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Amazon and others said a new proposal from the Screen Actors Guild submitted Wednesday “would create an untenable economic burden.” The gap between the two sides is too wide, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said.
The suspension of talks is a setback for an industry that has largely been on ice since May, when the Writers Guild of America went on strike. Many executives, creators and talent hoped the new deal forged between writers and studios at the end of September would lead to a speedy resolution of the actors’ strike.
If an accord with the actors isn’t reached by the end of October, it will likely end studios’ chances of salvaging a 2023-24 television season and wreak havoc on movie and TV production and release schedules for the foreseeable future.
Studios cited a viewership bonus that SAG is seeking as one reason talks broke down. The coalition of studios, streamers and networks said the actors union proposal would cost more than $800 million annually, “an untenable economic burden.”
Fighting over that demand consumed the bulk of the five days of negotiations, the alliance said, with little progress made on other key issues such as the use of artificial intelligence and new royalty rates.
“Conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” the AMPTP said.
In a letter to members, SAG accused the studio coalition of using “bully tactics” and refusing to share “a tiny portion” of the revenue actors generate for their streaming platforms.
SAG said its request to receive a 2% cut of all streaming revenue would cost companies such as Netflix and Disney less than 57 cents per subscriber annually. SAG said the alliance overstated the cost of that proposal by 60%.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive, called the demand “a bridge too far” deep into negotiations. Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference Thursday, Sarandos said SAG initially wanted a cut of all revenue and revised it to a portion of subscriber revenue.
Studios and streamers are willing to embrace a bonus system for performers involved in shows and movies that deliver strong results, but not a levy on every subscriber’s fee, he said.
Ari Emanuel, chief executive of sports and entertainment company Endeavor, said at the conference Wednesday evening before the AMPTP statement that studios and the union should lock themselves in a room and reach a resolution. Each side should be prepared to compromise, he said.
The AMPTP said its latest offer to SAG included an additional $717 million in wages and $177 million in contributions to the union’s pension and health plans, as well as significant increases in international streaming royalties. Similar terms were accepted by both the Writers Guild and Directors Guild in their new deals.
With regard to the use of artificial intelligence, the studio coalition said advance consent would be required to create digital replicas of a performer and that subsequent use of a replica would require consent and the actor would be compensated.
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