Talks To End Hollywood Actors’ Strike Suspended

According to reports, talks between Hollywood actors and studios over an ongoing strike were suspended Wednesday, in a blow to hopes for a swift end to a crisis that has crippled the entertainment industry.

Heads of studios such as Disney and Netflix had been meeting regularly since last week with negotiators for the screen actors guild (SAG-AFTRA), whose members walked off film and tv sets in July.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the studios said talks would be temporarily suspended, with SAG-AFTRA later accusing them of using “bully tactics” and “putting out misleading information” about the negotiations.

Last month, the AMPTP struck a deal with Hollywood writers, ending that union’s own lengthy and largely concurrent strike.

Read Also: Hollywood Writers Call Off Months long Strike

Given that deal, and overlaps between sag-aftra’s demands and those of the writers, optimism had been growing that a deal with the actors could also be struck soon.

That hope has now dimmed, with sag-aftra on early thursday accusing the studios of not making realistic offers and misrepresenting proposals made during negotiations.

In Wednesday’s statement, the AMPTP accused actors of making excessive demands, including for a share of revenues from hit streaming shows that “by itself, would cost more than $800 million per year.”