LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Hollywood actors and producers are set to resume contract negotiations, both sides announced Friday, less than one week after breaking off talks.
The Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers plan to resume bargaining on Jan. 19. Negotiators broke off talks Jan. 9, saying in a joint statement they had "concluded they cannot reach an agreement at this time."
After the talks recessed, Hollywood trade papers reported studios and producers began to accelerate film and TV production to build up a stockpile of product as a hedge against a possible actors' strike when the current contract expires on June 30.
Both sides have imposed a news blackout on the contract talks, but reports in Hollywood -- citing "knowledgeable sources" -- said producers have refused to budge on retaining the 20-year-old formula for calculating residual payments to actors for home video sales and rentals.
Last fall, the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America both agreed on new contracts with producers that left the existing residual payment formula in place.
