Striking Hollywood actors resume contract talks with studios, networks
By Steve Gorman and Dawn Chmielewski
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Negotiators for striking Hollywood actors resumed contract talks on Monday with representatives of major studios, television networks and streaming services, marking the first time the two sides have returned to the bargaining table since mid-July.
Renewed talks between the SAG-AFTRA actors union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) came eight days after the producers clinched a separate contract deal with Hollywood writers, who launched their own strike on May 2, about 10 weeks before the actors.
«SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP met for a full day bargaining session and have concluded,» the two sides said in a joint statement at the end of the day. It said negotiations would resume on Wednesday.
No further details were immediately available. Both sides agreed to observe a news «blackout» during their talks.
The tentative accord reached Sept. 24 between the producers and the 11,500-member Writers Guild of America not only paved the way for ending their labor dispute three days later, it could serve as a template for settling the actors strike.
SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood's largest union, representing 160,000 television and film performers, walked off the job on July 14 demanding higher base wages and residual pay from streaming TV as well as restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in entertainment.
The same issues were at the center of the writers strike.
In the area of artificial intelligence, actors want to protect their images and work from being replaced by computer-generated «digital replicas.»
At the same time, they are seeking compensation that reflects the value they bring to the relatively new frontier of streaming,
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