Hollywood Actors, Producers Resume Talks Amid Reports of ProgressHollywood actors and producers resumed negotiations here Monday amid reports of progress in their efforts to reach a deal to avoid an industry-crippling strike.Negotiators for the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) adjourned 14 hours of talks Sunday night after the old contract expired at 12:01 a.m Sunday. The expired contract remains in effect as long as the talks continue. Most of the 100 negotiators appeared in good spirits Monday morning when they returned to the headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for further talks. AFTRA spokeswoman Pamm Fair said on Sunday that the talks had shown signs of progress after hard bargaining. "The fact that we' re still here indicates there's a reason to still be here," Fair said before talks concluded. This view was echoed by AMPTP spokesman Barry Liden who said to reporters earlier that "we all want to get a deal as soon as we possibly can." No details were disclosed about the lengthy talks which are aimed at averting a strike by actors that could paralyze the Hollywood entertainment industry. The AFTRA is demanding a pay rise for nearly 75,000 Hollywood actors who earn only between 30,000 dollars and 70,000 dollars annually, in sharp contrast to the big stars who usually earn millions a year. Last year, the AFTRA staged a six-month strike by commercial actors that might have driven as much as 1 billion dollar worth of work overseas. |
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