Hollywood Actors, Studios, Producers Begin Talks
April 15, 2008

After moviegoers endured the long and winding road of the writers’ strike, talks have now begun in an effort to address the lingering issues of the Screen Actors Guild before another strike could potentially cripple the entertainment industry for a second time in a year. On Tuesday, as reported by The Associated Press, talks got underway between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to address issues related to compensation from the home entertainment industry and online distribution of movies and TV shows, which was a central issue in the recent writers’ strike.

As the AP reports, an anonymous source revealed that talks got underway on Tuesday to pave the way for a new three-year deal between the Actors Guild and Producers that would blanket the lingering issues related to online distribution and several other outstanding issues.

The news of the talks comes fresh on the heels of the announcement that a last minute offer to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from the SAG to join in Tuesday’s discussions was rejected on Monday. AFTRA has been a longtime partner with SAG but has pulled away from the Actors Guild in future negotiations after their members felt as though SAG was infringing on their authority in daytime programming.

Many actors that we’ve talked to here at The Deadbolt have expressed their hope and desire for an early resolution, but several have also mentioned that certain actions must be taken at times when negotiations reach a standstill. Here’s to hoping it all gets resolved sooner rather than later.