Hollywood actors, producers to hold contract talks in April

AFP, April, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Hollywood stars will start new contract talks in two weeks time, the actors' guild said Wednesday, as the US entertainment industry emerges from a long, costly screenwriters strike.

"Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have agreed to begin formal negotiations Tuesday, April 15," the labor union said in a statement.

The contract setting the wages for actors working both in the film industry and in television expires on June 30.

The news comes some six weeks after the screenwriters guild ended their 100-day strike which paralyzed Hollywood and led to millions of dollars in losses.

The US entertainment industry's most damaging dispute in 20 years pitted ...