SAG and producers set meetings

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers say they have agreed to meet next week.

Talks between the two parties regarding a new contract have been stalled for months. The previous SAG-AMPTP contract expired June 30.

"Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to meet on Feb. 17 and 18 at the AMPTP offices in Sherman Oaks, Calif.," the two parties said in a joint statement Tuesday. "We will have no further comment about the meeting."

The meetings will mark the first since SAG national executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen was ousted from his posts last month and replaced, largely due to criticism for the way he handled negotiations with AMPTP.