Posted in: Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, SAG-AFTRA, wga, writers' strike

WGA, AMPTP Meet Again Thursday Afternoon; CEOs Conference Call Friday

The WGA and AMPTP reportedly met again on Thursday afternoon, with studio CEOs set to have a strike-related conference call on Friday.

At the end of the day – putting aside all of the "sources" out there with their own agendas – at least both sides are talking. In this case, talking twice this week. Following up on the WGA & AMPTP meeting via Zoom on Tuesday – where the WGA responded to the AMPTP's counterproposal from last week – reports hit earlier today that both sides met this afternoon to continue hammering out a new contract. While some movement has reportedly happened on both sides, issues such as having a minimum number of writers on a project and access to streaming data for residual purposes are apparently still in play. Meanwhile, reports are that studio CEOs are expected to hold a joint call on Friday to discuss the next moves in the negotiations. Netflix's Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav, NBCUniversal's Donna Langley, Disney's Dana Walden & Alan Bergman, and others are expected to be included in the conversation.

SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements Exclude WGA-Covered U.S. Projects

On Monday, the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming Negotiating Committee announced to its members in a statement that any projects filmed in the U.S. that are covered by the WGA are excluded from receiving an interim agreement. The committee wrote that it was "advised by the WGA that this modification will assist them in executing their strike strategy" and that SAG-AFTRA leadership didn't believe the move would "undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours [strategy]." The 200+ agreements currently in place (including those that were approved that also have WGA coverage) will remain in effect – here's a look at the full statement from yesterday:

We will now exclude from Interim Agreements any WGA-covered project to be produced in the USA.

We have been advised by the WGA that this modification will assist them in executing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours. It is a win-win change.

This means that, going forward, for productions taking place in the USA, SAG-AFTRA will only grant Interim Agreements for non-WGA-covered projects. And our staff will continue to investigate each application for an Interim Agreement to ensure only true independent productions are included.

We created the Interim Agreements for several reasons, all of which are aimed at protecting the interests of our members and members of sister unions, so that journeymen performers and crew may continue to work and pay their bills while demonstrating to the AMPTP that independent producers are eager to work with our members under these terms. The strike action is evolving each day. We are adapting in real time to continue protecting our members while collaborating with our sister unions in fighting for our common cause.

SAG-AFTRA continues to support the Writers Guild of America in its fight to achieve a fair and equitable contract. And we continue to urge independent producers to apply for an Interim Agreement and encourage SAG-AFTRA members to work on projects that obtain approval, along with all the other permissible work we support.

In solidarity,

The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming Negotiating Committee

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