More than 90 days have passed since the start of the Hollywood actors strike, and the resolution of the conflict seems to be very far away. The negotiation between the artists and the studios broke down last week, and the main reason for disagreement is neither more nor less than money.
The Alliance of Film and TV Producers (AMPTP) asserted that there was too big a difference between its position and the claims of SAG-AFTRA. But how much are we talking about, really?
As reported Varietythe edge that prevails over the others in the Hollywood actors’ strike is the implementation of a new formula for the payment of residuals corresponding to streaming productions.
The union would demand the implementation of an annual fund of 500 million dollars. The studies, meanwhile, would remain immovable in his offer of about 20 million dollars per year.
This means that, today, the Hollywood actors’ strike is not resolved due to a difference of about $480 million. A figure that, although monstrous for ordinary people, represents a minimal portion of what the film and television industry moves annually.
However, the parties do not agree. Upon leaving the negotiating table, the corporations argued that the SAG-AFTRA claim would cost them about $800 million annually, which would be unsustainable. However, the actors union accused the studios of spreading false information. Responding to your request would actually cost them about 57 cents per subscriber per year.
Hollywood actors’ strike remains unresolved
The striking Hollywood actors would have also wanted the money obtained under the new formula for residual payments from streaming productions to be placed in a jointly managed fund. While those responsible for the trust would be in charge of distributing it to the artists according to their appearance on the different platforms.
The last point would be crucial, since it would require services such as Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, among others, to deliver specific audience statistics for your original productions. Something that, a priori, did not seem like a big problem, since the studios recently agreed to provide this information to the Writers Guild (WGA).
Despite this, the story would be much more complex. The studios’ proposal to end the Hollywood actors’ strike would have been identical to the one accepted by the screenwriters. It would include paying a bonus percentage above a fixed sum for residuals, but only to those who participated in films or series that achieved a certain level of success.
Specifically, those that could reach 20% of the US subscriber base over the course of 90 days. An achievement much more difficult to achieve than most could imagine. In fact, it is estimated that around 75% of streaming productions would not meet the requirement to access compensation.
With this scenario, the agreement that puts an end to the Hollywood actors’ strike is still a long way off. While this is happening, SAG-AFTRA announced yesterday that will resume negotiations with video game studiosanother of the conflict fronts, in order to avoid a second stoppage.