Striking actors say they have responded to Hollywood and TV studios’ ‘best and final offer’
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN
New York (CNN) — SAG-AFTRA said it has responded to Hollywood studios’ “last, best & final offer” on Monday as pressure ramps up to reach a deal ending the industry-freezing strike.
The actors’ union said in a message to its members that there are several “essential items” that the two sides have yet to reach agreement on, such as the use of AI.
The union said every member of its negotiating committee “is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly.”
On Saturday, the union said it had received and was reviewing the proposal from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which it described as its “Last, Best, and Final Offer.”
AMPTP members include Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.
It’s still not clear when a deal to end the nearly four-month-long strike will be reached, but the standoff has taken on heightened urgency in recent days as the two sides work to resolve the standoff in time to salvage the remainder of the winter television season.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents about 160,000 actors, announced its members would walk off sets on July 14, joining the striking writers in a historic double walkout against the studios. Both unions have advocated for restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, a technology that actors and writers alike believe poses an existential threat to their livelihoods.
Members of the Writers Guild of America union ratified a new contract with Hollywood and television studios in early October. It included assurances that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material and will require AI-generated materials to be disclosed to writers.
Despite the anticipation for a deal, 5,000 SAG-AFTRA members signed an online petition urging a hard line in negotiations toward a final agreement, saying they would not agree to a deal that did not meet the demands laid out at the start of the strike.
– CNN’s David Goldman contributed to this story.
The-CNN-Wire
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