SAG, studios extend contract talks again
Negotiations, which had reached a stalemate earlier in the week, will now continue through Tuesday. The extension follows the actors union's shift on DVD residuals.
The Screen Actors Guild and the Hollywood studios have agreed for the second time to extend their contentious talks on a new three-year contract, this time through Tuesday, people close to the negotiations said early today.
The surprise move came after SAG had agreed to withdraw its demand to double residuals from DVD sales, which had been a key stumbling block in negotiations that began three weeks ago. SAG is now asking for what would effectively be a 15% hike in DVD pay.
SAG also scaled back some of its other demands, including a 50% pay increase for guest stars on TV shows. Such concessions created enough goodwill to keep the talks alive a little longer, said people close to the situation.
Representatives for SAG and the studios were not immediately available for comment.
The negotiations reached a virtual stalemate earlier this week, prompting both sides to issues statements highlighting the significant gaps between them. SAG and the studios had planned to table their negotiations today after they extended their original talks by another week.
Studios were poised to begin negotiations with the Hollywood's smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, on Monday. The studios have requested that AFTRA agree to begin talks on Wednesday and are awaiting a response.
SAG, whose leaders feared that they could be undermined by their sister union in negotiations, requested the latest extension. The union also faces heavy pressure from its own membership and the larger Hollywood community to avert a strike in the wake of the three-month walkout by writers that ended in February.
Although the development is a positive sign, there are still steep hurdles to overcome before the parties can agree on a new contract to replace on that current that expires on June 30. Among other things, the sides are still arguing over the length of time film and TV shows can be streamed over the Internet before residuals can be paid to actors for their work, and what kind of programs created for the Internet should be covered under the union's contract.
The studios agreed to continue the talks through Tuesday, subject to daily progress in negotiations.
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