Leadership from SAG-AFTRA held a conference call with top Hollywood publicity agencies on Monday, warning of “powerful gatekeepers of A-list stars for a strike,” via Variety.
The objective of the call, according to sources, was to brief the reps on protocols and how talent can best serve the union if and when a strike takes place.
“It would be a miracle at this point” to reach a deal by this Wednesday, one producer told Variety.
The key issues around these conversations seem to be about minimum pay, residuals that consider the growth of streaming, healthcare, pensions, and regulation around how self-tapes are used in the casting process.
It’s quite incredible how greedy studios are about to allow a double strike to happen, but that’s where we’re at now. This is turning into an existential battle about where Hollywood will be headed in the next decade.
Remember, tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Netflix, are now part of the studio system. Their moves during this strike have proven to be curiously unique, when compared to similar events of the past. If a strike does happen, this will get very ugly.
What you need to know: if SAG-AFTRA does decide to strike on Wednesday, actors will not be able to film any movie or TV production and cannot show up at any press junket or film premiere.
They now have just three days to agree on a deal, otherwise this will cause massive disruption in the industry, much more so than the current WGA strike. Expect a massive downturn in production. This strike will immediately halt all film productions.
It’s a wonderful coincidence that these strikes and negotiations are occurring at the same time as AI has gone mainstream. This threat, and it is a threat, needs to be dealt with before it goes wildly out of control.
If SAG-AFTRA and/or DGA actually do go on strike, alongside WGA, they’ll have the studios over a barrel.
Venice, Toronto and Telluride must also be relentlessly biting their nails as we speak. Imagine those film festivals without star attractions — gosh, the films would have to do the talking. The horror!