Producers meet with federal mediator

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A group of Hollywood TV and film producers met Thursday with a federal mediator regarding a new contract with the Screen Actors Guild.

SAG and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers negotiating committees met for 44 days of formal negotiations and haven't yet reached a successor agreement to the TV/theatrical pact that expired June 30. AMPTP has repeatedly said a package it presented that day was its final offer and the two parties have not met since then, aside from one sidebar session in July.

SAG earlier this month asked that a federal mediator be used to help jump-start contract talks. AMPTP met with the mediator Thursday.

"During the meeting AMPTP presented details of the AMPTP's final offer to SAG, along with background information on the major labor agreements that AMPTP has reached this year with Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of American and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which served as the basis for our final offer to SAG," AMPTP said in a statement Thursday. "The federal mediator (Juan Carlos Gonzalez) indicated that he will advise the parties as to the next step in the process."