LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — As the screenwriter’s strike enters its third month with no end in sight, Hollywood faces a new challenge as the the leading actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA also appears to be preparing to strike.
According to the New York Times, SAG-AFTRA is preparing to strike if they can’t reach a deal with major studios by midnight Wednesday.
At issue in the contract negotiations are wages, residual payments, and the creation of new safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence in film and television production.
A strike by SAG-AFTRA would be a significant blow for major studios, who are already facing significant shutdowns amid the ongoing writer’s strike.
SAG-AFTRA’s members voted to approve the strike in early June with a near unanimous yes vote, but negotiators appeared hopeful that a deal could be reached to avert the walkout and a planned strike was averted at the end of June when the union announced it had briefly extended its contract with the studios while talks continued.
According to Variety, studio executives, including Disney chief Bob Iger, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zasla are hoping that federal mediators could help to break the stalement. Variety also reported that the heads of major agencies, including Ari Emanuel of WME , Bryan Lourd of CAA and UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer, have reached out to SAG-AFTRA leadership in an attempt to avert the industry wide shutdown that would almost certainly follow a strike.
