Hollywood strike: Actors were offered $1B before strike, claim studios
The entertainment industry is witnessing one of the biggest protests after the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), last week, joined the ongoing writer's strike in Hollywood. Now, studios have claimed that actors were offered over $1B in compensation and benefits, even before they joined the strike, further calling SAG-AFTRA to not continue "to mischaracterize the negotiations."
Why does the story matter?
The entire Hollywood has been brought to a standstill with the ongoing writers and actors strike in the industry. On May 2, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called a midnight strike over new contract terms after negotiations failed between studios and streamers, and writers. SAG-AFTRA joined the strike last week, following which major projects have been put on hold.
Studios' representative claimed SAG-AFTRA walked out of the deal
According to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the actors turned down the $1B offer. "The deal that SAG-AFTRA walked away from on July 12 is worth more than $1B in wage increases, pension and health contributions, and residual increases and includes first-of-their-kind protections over its three-year term, including expressly with respect to AI," said AMPTP's statement on Monday.
AMPTP denied being non-responsive
Further, in its statement, AMPTP denied being "unresponsive" to the actors' demands. "For SAG-AFTRA to assert that we have not been responsive to the needs of its membership is disingenuous at best," it said. AMPTP is negotiating on behalf of the studios and streamers such as Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix Inc., and others.
What are the demands of SAG-AFTRA?
On Monday, SAG-AFTRA pointed out its proposals and also the response it received from the studios. "We're fighting for the survival of our profession," it said, adding they asked for an increase of 11% general wage in the contract's first year. For this, the studios gave a counteroffer of 5%. SAG-AFTRA claimed that the studios "wouldn't meaningfully engage on the most critical issues."
Major projects that have been halted due to the strike
Meanwhile, due to the ongoing protests by WAG and SAG-AFTRA, production work on a lot of big-budget films has been impacted. Movies such as Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part Two, Avatar 3 and 4, and Mufasa- The Lion King, among many others have been delayed due to the strike. The work on Stranger Things 5 has also been put on hold.
