SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT FRAN DRESCHER REACTS TO HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS BREAKING OFF NEGOTIATIONS

Fran Drescher has steered the actors guild through its monthslong strike. On the heels of Hollywood studios abruptly breaking off talks with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists this week, the actor and union president says she’s baffled and disappointed.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced last week that they had suspended contract negotiations, saying the gap between the two sides was too great to make continuing worth it and characterizing their offer as good as the one that recently ended the writers strike. Drescher told in an interview that she did not understand why negotiations collapsed but that her union’s resolve has not weakened.

The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN YOUR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE AMPTP?

DRESCHER: They had given us a proposal package. We worked for like 36 hours on it. We brought it back to them. We walked them through it and they left and then called a few hours later and said, “We’re breaking negotiations.” So it’s not only baffling but wholly disappointing and counterproductive.

I’ve never really met people that actually don’t understand what negotiations mean. Why are you walking away from the table? To what end do you hope that that will accomplish anything?

And actually, my members are more pumped up than ever. They feel so insulted by this, so degraded by this and dishonored by this that it’s like, “Fran, do not cave. Remain strong. Hold onto your resolve because this can’t be for nothing.”

Q: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE MOOD OF THE CONVERSATIONS BEFORE THEY BROKE OFF? WAS THERE A SENSE THAT TALKS WOULD BE SMOOTHER AFTER THE STUDIOS REACHED A DEAL WITH THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA?