SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ – Deadline

Rosie Cordero/Deadline

SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP returned to the table today for further talks to resolve the actors’ strike that has been ongoing for more than 100 days.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, told Deadline he was “cautiously optimistic” about talks with studios.

Crabtree-Ireland made a quick stop at the Paramount where the guild was hosting the Hip-Hop Alliance and its co-founder Curtis Blow before returning to the guild’s offices on Wilshire Boulevard for talks with the likes of Carole Lombardini, Disney’s Bob Iger, and NBCU’s Donna. Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, and Warner Bros.’ David Zaslav. Discovery.

“We are in ongoing negotiations today and we are 100% focused on getting a fair agreement to the table. This is where things are going. That’s about it. I’m cautiously optimistic that it can happen. I don’t really want to describe what’s happening in the room but we’re really focused To remain prepared and focused on completing negotiations.

“There are a lot of people who have rumors going around and are whispering campaigns and things like that. We don’t care about that, we are focused on the negotiations and are really looking forward to seeing us reach an agreement as soon as possible,” he added.

This comes because talks scheduled for Wednesday did not happen after all, although that was a result of SAG-AFTRA wanting more time to consider the latest proposals from AMPTP for it to consider, run the numbers and come back. To the studios with their ideas.

“It happens all the time in these types of negotiations. It shows that people are serious, and that’s a good thing,” one source told Deadline.