SAG-AFTRA reviewing studios’ ‘last, best and final offer’

According to reports, the actors’ union also urged members to ignore outside conjecture and rumours.

• Mohnish Singh
• 06 November, 2023

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By: Mohnish Singh

The SAG-AFTRA has said it is evaluating the “last, best, and final offer” from the studios and streamers as the actors strike entered its 114th day.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actors’ union also urged members to ignore outside conjecture and rumours.

After a staff review on Saturday, the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)’s negotiating committee will convene on Sunday to discuss the terms.

An expanded complement of CEOs from the major studios and the streamers attended Saturday’s bargaining session with SAG leadership.

Top executives said they could be done negotiating for the time being — or likely until the new year — if SAG-AFTRA doesn’t welcome what one studio-side source in the meeting claimed was a deal “worth more than three of the last deals put together”.

“This is a very good deal for them; they’ve gotten almost everything they’ve wanted, and they came back for more,” said the insider, adding that unless a deal is reached this weekend or by early next week, “it means we’re finished.” Studios have told the top brass of the actors’ union that if there is no sign of resolution by next week or November second week, both their 2024 summer movie and TV season could go down the drain.

In regards to the final offer, the studios and streamers made what they claimed as major concessions, including more favourable AI protection than the WGA (Writers Guild of America) deal recently provided.

As of Saturday, sources presented differing views as to when a deal might be closed, with some more optimistic than others that negotiations could wrap up quickly at this juncture.

The actor’s union and studios along with streamers have been back at the bargaining table and meeting continuously since October 24.

The SAG-AFTRA in July voted to team up with the screenwriters under the WGA in the first joint strike after failing to reach a consensus for a new contract with the studios and streaming services, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).