SAG-AFTRA Strike Could Hinge On AI; Deep Divisions Remain Between Actors & Studios In Final Hours Of Talks

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: The computers are taking over. As talks between the actors union and the studios come to down to the final days before the extension of SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires, artificial intelligence has become a significant obstacle to any deal.   “There seems to be no real negotiations here,” a SAG-AFTRA member close to talks tells Deadline on AI talks with the AMPTP.  “Actors see Black Mirror’s ‘Joan Is Awful’ as a documentary of the future, with their likenesses sold off and used any way producers and studios want.” The union member is referring to the opening episode of the latest season of the Charlie Brooker-created satire starring Salma Hayek and Annie Murphy.  “We want a sold pathway.

The studios countered with ‘trust us’ – we don’t.” RELATED: SAG-AFTRA Preparing Picket Signs As Possible Strike Looms Just like the striking WGA before it, the Fran Drescher-led 160,000-strong union wants heavy duty assurances and guarantees in terms of the deployment, reach and scope of AI in the industry for its members.

Having just put a new set of proposals on the negotiating table, the AMPTP allegedly doesn’t want to discuss the potentially game-changing matter in any substantial way, various sources tell me. “The agreement with the DGA is a good basis for discussion,” a streamer exec said of the deal for AI “consultation” the guild made with the AMPTP and overwhelmingly ratified last month. “This is a town [built] on relationships.

Only the whackjobs want to blow this up; they’re the ones stopping a deal,” he asserted. “This is a power grab, pure and simple,” a well-established actress said of the AMPTP’s stance on AI. “We see what’s coming.