UH-OH... NOT AGAIN

Deadline looming for SAG
Guild, studios enter fourth week of talks
By Dave McNary (May 5)

With Hollywood's nerves stretched to the breaking point over a possible strike by thesps, it's make-or-break time for the Screen Actors Guild at the bargaining table.

Negotiators for SAG and the majors face a self-imposed deadline of 5 p.m. PDT today to either make a feature-primetime deal or let the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists have its turn starting Wednesday. The SAG talks have been extended twice and are now in their fourth week.

Both sides met well into Monday night without commenting publicly. But it's understood that the majors have become disinclined to grant a third extension to SAG unless both sides have a deal within sight this afternoon.

And it remains uncertain whether SAG and the AMPTP will start the give-and-take of hard bargaining today. SAG may want to wait until closer to the June 30 contract expiration date in hopes of achieving sweeter terms.

The guild's given only a few signs that it's willing to back off from many of its demands, particularly in new-media provisions, as its leaders have insisted that actors have to receive better terms and salary hikes than those contained in the Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America pacts. For its part, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers has insisted that any SAG deal has to follow the pattern set by the directors and writers.

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