Hollywood's top earners reportedly laid out a proposal which Clooney says will "bring over $50 million to the union annually," while also amending the current residual structure.
As the SAG-AFTRA strike nears day 100, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, and more stars met with guild leadership to discuss what led to the suspension of negotiations with the AMPTP.
According to Deadline, which first reported the news on Tuesday, a group of A-list talent, including Clooney, Johansson, Tyler Perry, Emma Stone, and Ben Affleck, had a meeting with guild president Fran Drescher and the union’s executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon to learn details about why talks broke down, and get an update on where the union currently stands regarding restarting negotiations.
SAG Accuses Studios of 'Bully Tactics,' Slams AMPTP After Talks Are Suspended
Sources told Deadline that the actors were “extremely supportive” of SAG-AFTRA getting a new three-year contract with studios and streamers.
“They had a lot of questions, some suggestions, and a lot of good feedback,” another insider told Deadline.
However, sources told Variety that while the tone was “supportive,” the group represented the glaring discontent in the actor’s guild over the suspended talks, and put more pressure on SAG-AFTRA leaders to find a solution to restart talks, get a deal, and end the strike.
According to Variety, Perry has expressed concern over not being able to restart production at his Atlanta studio, which has hundreds of employees.
An insider told the outlet that Clooney, Johansson, and the other actors gave a “presentation” to Drescher and Crabtree-Ireland.
SAG-AFTRA did not offer details about the meeting or confirm it took place, however, the guild told Deadline and Variety: “We meet with members of all profiles every day and we won’t be commenting on those private conversations.”
The revenue sharing proposal is one of SAG-AFRA’s primary demands, which has proven to be a large obstacle in its negotiations with the AMPTP. The studios and streamers have said the guild’s proposal — in which it’s asking for $500 a year — would be an “undentable economic burden.”
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Deadline said Clooney and co. were specifically interested in the streaming residual proposal during Tuesday’s virtual meeting.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Deadline reported that Clooney and the other stars in Tuesday’s meeting proposed a deal to union leadership to help end the strike. In the deal, Hollywood’s highest earners would pay more in annual dues, a total of $150 million over three years, and proposed an amendment to the current residual structure, making it so those at the bottom of the call sheet would receive residual pay first.
“A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution,” Clooney told Deadline. “We’ve offered to remove the cap on dues which would bring over $50 million to the union annually. Well over $150 million over the next three years. We think it’s fair for us to pay more into the Union. We also are suggesting a bottom up residual structure. Meaning the top of the call sheet would be the last to collect residuals not the first. These negotiations will be ongoing but we wanted to show that we’re all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid.”
Last Wednesday, negotiations between the guild and the studios and streamers were suspended.
The AMPTP announced the news in a press release, saying, “Negotiations between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA have been suspended after SAG-AFTRA presented its most recent proposal on October 11. After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction.”
The next morning, SAG-AFTRA issued a lengthy statement, in which it fired back at the studios after they “walked away” from the negotiating table, accusing the AMPTP of using “bully tactics” and “putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool” members.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14. Saturday will be Day 100.
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