WGA & AMPTP Meeting Ends With “Mixed Results” – Update
UPDATED, 4:36 PM: Today’s meeting between the WGA and the AMPTP is over.
The sit-down at the Sherman Oaks office of the Carol Lombardini-led organization concluded with “mixed results,” according to a well-placed source.
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No details have yet to emerge as to whether the parties will meet for further talks or if more proposals will be offered.
EXCLUSIVE, PREVIOUS 1:34 PM: Sources are telling Deadline that the Writers Guild and AMPTP are resuming talks this afternoon. We’re told now that the meeting is in person. We understand that the WGA will be delivering their counter to AMPTP’s counterproposal from Friday.
We heard that the WGA negotiating committee met Monday to parse through the studios’ offer. Sources tell us that by the end of today, we’re bound to have further clarity on talks, the vital points being about viewership-based streaming residuals, pay raises, AI and the preservation of the writers room.
Knock on wood, so far the tone of talks has been progressive, we hear. That is, both sides are willing to negotiate.
One of the deal points believed to be offered by studios is ensuring that screenplay writers are paid a revision fee upfront with their main fee, before a revision is made.
On Monday, in solidarity with the WGA, SAG-AFTRA modified its interim agreement policy for indie projects to exclude those shot in the U.S. and covered by the WGA. More than 200 productions have signed interim agreements with SAG-AFTRA, and those deals will remain in effect.
“The Interim Agreement is an important element of our strike strategy,” the SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee said in a statement Monday. “We will now exclude from Interim Agreements any WGA-covered project to be produced in the USA. We have been advised by the WGA that this modification will assist them in executing their strike strategy, and we believe it does not undermine the utility and effectiveness of ours. It is a win-win change.
“This means that, going forward, for productions taking place in the USA, SAG-AFTRA will only grant Interim Agreements for non-WGA-covered projects. And our staff will continue to investigate each application for an Interim Agreement to ensure only true independent productions are included.”
AMPTP and WGA reps were unavailable for comment due to the news blackout.
David Robb contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: The original story has been corrected to reflect the fact that the WGA-AMPTP meeting was in person, and that a rumor about WGA strike captains participating in the review of the AMPTP’s counterproposal was not confirmed.
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