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The union representing American film and television actors says no deal has been reached with studios and streaming services despite the passing of a midnight deadline, and its leadership will vote within the coming hours on whether to join screenwriters by going on strike.
- Negotiations have broken down between American film and TV actors and Hollywood producers, meaning a strike is likely
- Film and TV writers have been on strike since early May, slowing a number of productions
- Issues at play include the use of artificial intelligence and residuals from projects that have long lives on streaming services
If the actors do go on strike, it will be the first time since 1960 that both actors and writers have picketed film and television productions in the United States.
The Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) — said early on Thursday morning that companies at the other end of the bargaining table had refused to engage with the union on some topics.
"Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal," said Fran Drescher, the star of The Nanny who is now the actors' guild president.
The group representing the studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), said it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.
"This is the union's choice, not ours," the AMPTP said in a statement.
"In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses, and more."
It added that instead of continuing to negotiate, "SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods."
If SAG-AFTRA's leadership votes to go on strike — guild members have previously authorised it by a margin of nearly 98 per cent — actors will formally join screenwriters on the picket lines outside studios and filming locations.
Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May, slowing the production of film and television series on both coasts and in production centres like Atlanta in a bid to get better terms from studios and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.
Issues at play in the negotiations include the unregulated use of artificial intelligence, and the effects on residual pay brought on by the massive streaming ecosystem that has emerged in recent years.
Some actors have joined writers on the picket lines for weeks in solidarity, but an actors' strike would prevent those performers from working on sets or promoting their projects.
Whether the cast of Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer attends Thursday's London premiere now hangs in the balance.
At a photo event on Wednesday, Hollywood star Matt Damon said that while everyone was hoping a strike could be averted, many actors need a fair contract to survive.
"We ought to protect the people who are kind of on the margins," Damon told the Associated Press.
"And 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people whose residual payments are what carry them across that threshold.
"If those residual payments dry up, so does their health care. And that's absolutely unacceptable. We can't have that."
The looming strike has cast a shadow over the upcoming 75th Emmy Awards, the nominations for which were announced just hours before negotiators announced they had failed to strike a deal.
The strike was on the mind of many nominees.
"People are standing up and saying, 'This doesn't really work, and people need to be paid fairly,'" said Jessica Chastain, who was nominated for her first Emmy for playing Tammy Wynette in George & Tammy.
"It is very clear that there are certain streamers that have really kind of changed the way we work and the way that we have worked, and the contracts really haven't caught up to the innovation that's happened."
AP