SAG-AFTRA mulls "Last, Best, and Final Offer" from AMPTP

Image above © SAG-AFTRA

For almost 4 months, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike has paralyzed both TV and film productions across Hollywood. The union has fought hard to make sure that its almost 120,000-strong membership is to receive many safeguards not present in its previous deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The SAG-AFTRA strike was previously concurrent with another Hollywood union strike from the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA), which ended last September 27, 2023. The WGA had fought to limit the use of AI in script writing, increased pay for writers, and increasing the size of “writer’s rooms” that have become so prevalent in the age of streaming.

The SAG-AFTRA has taken a more hardline stance in negotiating with the AMPTP, which has resulted in multiple offers from the Producers’ side being rejected. The work stoppage has resulted in huge tentpole releases being delayed to 2024 or release dates outright being put in limbo (i.e. Dune Part Two, Deadpool 3, and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, to name a few). However, there is a silver lining possibly appearing on the horizon thanks to what the Producers are calling their “Last, Best and Final Offer.”

According to a report by the Hollywood Reporter, The AMPTP met with SAG-AFTRA leadership last Saturday and presented what’s being called an “overarching package of proposals” to help end the suspension of productions plaguing Hollywood for almost 120 days. In a show of force, it was said that an “expanded complement of CEOs from the major studios and the streamers attended Saturday’s bargaining session with SAG leadership”.

Letting the actors guild know that they mean business, the AMPTP has already paraded a killer lineup of studio heads during past negotiating sessions, including Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav, Disney's Bob Iger, and Netflix's Ted Sarandos, on top of many more bigwigs from Paramount, Sony, Apple, and Amazon - all entities with a vested interest in the ever-expanding space of streaming in today’s media landscape.

The most important of the many talking points by the AMPTP in the meeting was how the 2024 Summer movie season could end up being disrupted if their offer wasn’t accepted; it should be noted that the strike has already impacted the 2024 TV season. One of the many components of the "Last, Best, and Final Offer" includes stronger protection from AI than what was given to the WGA last September, the highest wage increase for actors in 40 years, and new residual computations from streamers now based on how a show performs on their platforms.

What do you think about this, Cinegeeks? Will the Actors’ Guild finally accept this offer? Is there hope for production to resume soon? Will Deadpool 3 finally be completed? Sound off in the comments below!