SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Says There’s Been “No Formal Exchange” With Major Video Game Companies As Strike Hits Third Week
UPDATED with statement from video game producers — It’s been nearly three weeks since SAG-AFTRA called a strike against 10 major video game companies, and so far there’s been no movement to get back to the bargaining table.
The guild’s National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told Deadline on Thursday that “there’s been no formal exchange between the companies and us.”
“The negotiators stay in contact during the process, but nothing substantive, unfortunately,” he said. “I certainly hope that the video game companies are not taking a page out of the AMPTP playbook, where they intend to wait months before they come to their senses, and hopefully, as they see the kind of turnout that we’ve had … it will encourage them to get back to the table so that we can find the right path forward,” he continued, reiterating that “these companies are gonna be increasingly isolated as they refuse to have that conversation.”
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Crabtree-Ireland was on hand with Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee chair Sarah Elmaleh and more than 100 SAG-AFTRA members and allies Thursday on a picket line at the Burbank offices of Disney Character Voices. It marked the second labor action of the strike, following the first picket at WB Games Inc. on August 1.
The picketing strategy marks a departure from last year’s strike, where actors were deployed nearly every weekday across most major studio across New York and Los Angeles. This is case for several reasons, including the fact that many video game companies are not covered under the Interactive Media Agreement and instead have signed individual tiered agreements with SAG-AFTRA, meaning members are free to work with them.
Nearly every major studio bargains through the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on the film and TV contract, which slowed down production much more and left few union jobs for members.
Elmaleh also said the plan is to be “a little more tactical and ad hoc” about the plans for pickets on this strike, which is why they’ve come more sporadically.
She tells Deadline she’s “not surprised” that talks have been stalled on the contract since the strike was called July 25.
“I think that [the producers] haven’t necessarily taken seriously our will and investment in these provisions, and what we’re willing to do to get them,” she continued. “It seems like they didn’t take the prospect of a strike as seriously as they might have up until the end, where there was some more movement. So now maybe they’re still kind of wondering just exactly what we’re capable of, and I feel, personally, very encouraged and excited about how it’s going so far.”
This work stoppage all comes down to AI provisions, as the union maintains it has been unable to secure protections that encompass all performers, particularly motion capture performers, without loopholes related to whether an actors’ likeness is recognizable.
In a statement to Deadline, a spokesperson for the video game producers said: “We have worked hard to deliver proposals with reasonable terms that protect the rights of performers while ensuring we can continue to use the most advanced technology to create great entertainment experiences for fans.”
The spokesperson explained that the current AI proposal on the table ensures that if a company wants to use a digital replica of an actor “to generate a new performance of them in a game, we have to seek consent and pay them fairly for its use.”
“These are robust protections, which are entirely consistent with or better than other entertainment industry agreements the union has signed,” the statement continued. “Our companies are committed to resolving the remaining issue in these negotiations so we can end this strike and deliver historic wage increases, industry-leading AI protections, and many other benefits to video game performers working under the IMA.”
The Disney picket comes one day after SAG-AFTRA inked yet another deal with an AI company. On Wednesday, the guild announced a partnership with Narrativ, an online marketplace where brands can use AI to create audio ads.
According to the union, the company has agreed to a deal that meaningfully addresses informed consent, compensation requirements, and other protections for members.
“I think the Narrativ deal really just exemplifies how increasingly isolated the video game company’s position is, because not only have we got the studios, the streamers, the record labels — we’ve got Replica Studios. We’ve got Narrativ,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “All of these companies that are really doing creative, active work in this space are able to make deals that respect informed consent and fair compensation. So why can’t the video game companies? They absolutely could. There is no reason this strike could not end today by them simply signing off on the AI provisions.”