The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiates on behalf of Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and others, said SAG-Aftra “continues to mischaracterise the negotiations”.

The actors guild called a strike last Thursday after union negotiators said they were unable to reach an agreement with studios on a new three-year contract with higher benefits and limits on the use of their images by artificial intelligence.

“The deal that SAG-Aftra walked away from on July 12 is worth more than US$1 billion in wage increases, pension and health contributions, and residual increases, and includes first-of-their-kind protections over its three-year term, including expressly with respect to AI,” the AMPTP said in a statement.

“For SAG-Aftra to assert that we have not been responsive to the needs of its membership is disingenuous at best.”

Earlier yesterday, SAG-Aftra – which represents more than 160,000 actors, stunt performers and others – issued a detailed list of its proposals, and what it said were the studios’ responses, under the title: “We’re fighting for the survival of our profession.”

Among them, the actors guild said it asked for an 11% general wage increase in the first year of the contract to make up for inflation. The union said the studios countered with an offer of 5%.

“We moved on some things, but from day one they wouldn’t meaningfully engage on the most critical issues,” SAG-Aftra said.

The actors have joined members of the Writers Guild of America, which went on strike May 2 after failing to reach a deal with the AMPTP.