Hollywood faces possible second strike as actors' talks near deadline

Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co and Hollywood's other major film and television studios were racing against a midnight deadline on Friday to reach a deal with the SAG-Aftra actors union and avert a second labor strike this summer.

A-list stars including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, in a letter to union leadership this week, said they were ready to walk off the job if negotiators cannot reach a "transformative deal" on higher base pay and safeguards around use of artificial intelligence (AI).

The letter came after union negotiators issued a video saying their talks had been "extremely productive," a possible sign that a deal was within reach.

Negotiations were taking place during a difficult time for Hollywood studios. Conglomerates are under pressure from Wall Street to make their streaming services profitable after pumping billions of dollars into programming to attract subscribers.

The rise of streaming has eroded television ad revenue as traditional TV audiences shrink.

A strike by SAG-Aftra, which represents 160,000 actors, would add pressure to studios already grappling with a nearly two-month work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

The walkout by 11,500 writers has shut down a wide swath of TV production and delayed the filming of movies including Marvel's "Thunderbolts" and "Blade." Any ongoing filming would have to halt if actors also strike.

Leaders of SAG-Aftra and the WGA say the entertainment industry has changed dramatically with the rise of streaming television and the emergence of new technology such as generative AI, which they fear could be used to write scripts or create digital actors.

Writers on the picket lines on Friday waited for word on the outcome of talks between SAG-Aftra and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiates on behalf of major studios.

"I think that they're attempting to... pit us against each other," said Keith Powell, a writer, director and actor who is a member of SAG-Aftra, the WGA and the Directors Guild of America.

Some actors have said they want to stage a walkout in part to support the writers.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star of the new "Indiana Jones" movie, noted that she was already on strike as a member of the WGA.

"I'm on the edge of my seat hoping that SAG will follow suit and stand up in support of the writers, and just really hope we can get this sorted," Waller-Bridge said in an interview with Reuters at an "Indiana Jones" premiere in London.

SAG-Aftra already voted to give its leaders the authority to call a work stoppage if talks break down before their contract expires on Friday night.

"I think we need the actors to go on strike so that it all could get worked out," filmmaker and actor Judd Apatow told Reuters. "All these issues affect everybody."

The AMPTP had no comment on the ongoing talks with SAG-Aftra.

With the writers, the AMPTP said it had offered "generous" pay increases but could not agree to all of the writers' demands. The studios and the WGA have not held talks since the writers' strike began on May 2.

The WGA walkout is hitting caterers, prop suppliers and other small businesses that generate a large portion of their income from Hollywood productions. The last writers' strike in 2007 and 2008 cost the California economy an estimated US$2.1 billion (RM9.80 billion).