Fiery Fran Drescher Takes on the AMPTP with No-Holds-Barred Critique
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher criticizes the AMPTP's abrupt departure from contract negotiations, deeming it as disrespectful and unfair
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher criticized the AMPTP's decision to halt negotiations during the ongoing actors' strike. On the October 13 episode of the Today show, Drescher, 66, expressed her surprise and questioned why the AMPTP would choose to leave the bargaining table. She emphasized that the actors' demands were not unreasonable.
Dresher criticized the studios for their disrespectful behavior of leaving the meeting. He expressed his frustration that they only speak at you without truly listening or caring about your perspective. Shortly after this, the AMPTP announced on October 11th that negotiations with SAG-AFTRA have been suspended after weeks of talks.
The trade association, representing major companies like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Sony, stated in a press release that meaningful conversations have revealed an insurmountable gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA. These conversations are no longer progressing in a productive manner. The trade association hopes that SAG-AFTRA will reconsider and engage in productive negotiations again soon.
The AMPTP cited the proposal for actors to receive a two percent cut of streaming platform revenue as the primary source of contention. The organization claimed that this would incur a cost of over $800 million per year, which they deemed an unsustainable economic burden. Additionally, the AMPTP highlighted the existence of numerous unresolved matters that SAG-AFTRA has made little to no progress on. Specific details were not provided.
In reply, SAG-AFTRA, which represents around 160,000 actors, claimed that the AMPTP had engaged in "bullying tactics" towards the guild. They alleged that the studios had deliberately misrepresented the cost of the proposal by 60 percent when speaking to the press.
Furthermore, the SAG statement pointed out that the same misleading approach had been taken regarding AI. While claiming to protect performer consent, the studios still insisted on obtaining "consent" on the very first day of employment for using a performer's digital replica in a complete cinematic universe or any franchise project.
Despite the breakdown in negotiations, the union emphasized that its determination to achieve a fair deal remains unwavering.
In their statement, the union denounced the companies' use of a failed strategy previously employed against the WGA. They accused the companies of disseminating misleading information in an effort to deceive their members into forsaking unity and pressuring the negotiators. Nevertheless, the union confidently asserted that their members are astute and will not be deceived, similar to the writers' response.
After settling a new deal with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) last month, AMPTP representatives have resumed negotiations with SAG-AFTRA on October 2. Over the past two weeks, they have met for five days. The WGA had ended its strike on September 27 after 148 days, while SAG-AFTRA had joined the picket lines in July. This marked the first time both unions were simultaneously on strike since the 1960s.
Last month, the negotiating committee for the WGA sent an email to its members, expressing great pride in the exceptional deal they had reached. The email included a 94-page outline of the new terms, highlighting compensation gains, a new requirement for minimum staff levels in TV writers' rooms, and protections for the use of artificial intelligence.
SAG-AFTRA commended the WGA in September, expressing their readiness to negotiate with studios. The organization praised the WGA's dedication, diligence, and solidarity over the past five months, emphasizing their shared commitment as creative partners in the entertainment industry. They eagerly anticipated reviewing the terms of the WGA and AMPTP's tentative agreement and stated their preparedness to resume negotiations with the AMPTP once they are willing to engage meaningfully with their proposals.
