Owen Wilson: I had a nice conversation one day where I was talking with Tom and he quoted something, and I said, “Is that Shakespeare?” And he said, “Yes, Hamlet.” And I was proud just that I got the Shakespeare part. - Marvel Studios Assembled. TheMaking of Loki
SAG-AFTRA negotiators have approved a tentative agreement that will end the longest actors strike against the film and TV studios in Hollywood history.
The two sides spent the last several days putting the finishing touches on the deal, which will see the first-ever protections for actors against artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase.
As the deal neared the finish line, AI remained one of the most complicated issues to resolve. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s top negotiator, met with Carol Lombardini, the CEO of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, via Zoom on Wednesday to work on the last details.
When SAG-AFTRA responded to the studios’ latest contract offer on Monday, AI protections for high-earning members remained a key sticking point.
Multiple sources familiar with the state of the negotiations tell The Hollywood Reporter that SAG-AFTRA has pushed back on an AI clause that is included in the studios’ “last, best and final offer.” The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is seeking to secure AI scans for Schedule F performers — guild members who earn more than the minimum for series regulars ($32,000 per TV episode) and feature films ($60,000). The companies’ suggested clause would require studios and streamers to pay to scan the likeness of Schedule F performers — think George Clooney, Ellen Pompeo, etc. SAG-AFTRA is seeking to attach a compensation for the re-use of AI scans as AMPTP member companies would also need to secure consent from the performer. The language currently in the AMPTP’s offer would see the studios and streamers secure the right to use scans of deceased performers without the consent of their estate or SAG-AFTRA.
“This is one of the biggest reasons SAG did not accept the ‘last, best and final’ offer from the AMPTP. We could not allow that language to stand,” says one union-side source. “This is massive. Every A-, B-, C-, D- and E-lister — all the higher-paid performers — who think this is a minimum wage strike, they must know they are in this fight. They have to realize that this is about protecting them. This is their strike now when they realize what’s on the line. The people who launched the campaign to take a deal — they’d be f—ked if we took this deal with that in there.”
