THB #427: Kwai Not

“The guild is still reviewing the proposals,” a well-positioned SAG-AFTRA member tells Deadline.

Bullshit.

The Guild is arguing amongst itself. Which is to be expected. But 115 days in for SAG/Aftra and 187 days overall in strike mode for the industry, the time for “reviewing” is over. The guild can still, certainly, make more detailed demands. But it is clearly shit-or-get-off-the-pot time.

“There’s a lot to digest here,” a guild insider told Deadline about SAG-AFTRA’s review of the studios’ response proposals. “This simply takes time to review and to respond.”

Bullshit.

Of course it is a wide-ranging agreement… but the negotiation group inside SAG/Aftra knows where the pressure points are and should be long past the point where they are “reviewing proposals.”

“Their decision to use ‘last best and final’ language in their most recent counter proposal tips their hand and shows that they are relying on intimidation and not fairness to bring this strike to an end.”

Bullshit.

This one is from a supportive SAG/Aftra member… but it is one of the wide-spread takes on where things are… focused on fighting the enemy instead of getting back to work.

Here is the bad news. NOBODY WINS. Both sides make concessions. Perfect is the enemy of good or even very good. And now it seems that one side is desperate to not be seen as “losing,” not wanting to accept a settlement that will make neither side happy.

I’m not saying AMPTP has become “the good guy” in this. Far from it. I am saying that the initial strategy of AMPTP to not negotiate AT ALL for 3+ months is the core reason why we are now more than 6 months into a shut down. Now that real losses have started, AMPTP had themselves to blame. But that doesn’t mean that AMPTP is not the group with whom writers and now, actors, need to negotiate and settle.

We are seeing in so many areas in life that demonizing others is not a good foundation for working positively with those same people. The boss is hated in most places. This is the nature of life. There is never enough. Individuals are vulnerable and The Money has power and the ability to hire and fire and at least the appearance of freedom. But every boss has a boss. Disney is trading at $85 a share. There is no “fair” in an open market. Often, there is not even objectivity.

The deep frustration I have with these union conflicts is that The Money can account for what is being asked financially and adjust accordingly. Some silly people are suggesting that Streamers are raising prices because of the strikes. Utter bullshit. These financial rethinks were inevitable from the day Disney+ launched at $7 a month.

Point is, the studios/streamers can absorb the unions’ financial demands. Some of the other issues - like AI - are complex in a different way. Evil as AMPTP may seem, their members want to protect their flexibility as the technology, still in its infancy, moves forward. Also, Actors and Writers are 100% correct in protecting themselves, in a much more personal way, from this future using them as food to feed a digital monster that could end their professions as we know them.

Areas like this is where true partnership is needed… not the money details. And it is horrible for everyone that something this complex to be getting memorialized in the midst of a too-long strike dealing with major issues of RIGHT NOW and during which both sides are ill-equipped to see the future clearly. History assures us that both sides will have regrets that they cannot even imagine right now about this area of the agreement.

I do not have the intense, personal anger at Carol Lombardini that some very smart people do… but as the AMPTP negotiator, she created an atmosphere that has meant that the industry unions don’t seem to get much of anything done when she is the top leader for her side… the studios heads need to be there to make significant progress. And that is not how her job is meant to work. She should be fired when this is over on that basis primarily… not because she is The Devil Incarnate. Just not the best person for this job that is really about avoiding strikes, not winning them.