SAG, AMPTP schedule meetings

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers say they have agreed to meet after months of stalled contract talks.

The two parties issued a joint statement late Wednesday announcing their plans to meet Feb. 3-4 at the AMPTP offices in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

"We will have no further comment about the meeting," the statement said.

The announcement came just two days after SAG replaced its national executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen, whose negotiating tactics with AMPTP were widely criticized.

The last SAG-AMPTP contract expired June 30, 2008.