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 The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was early Wednesday in its second late night of talks with the producers after negotiating through the Memorial Day weekend.
A source familiar with the schedule who was not authorized to be speak publicly and requested anonymity said late Tuesday that SAG's talks would go ahead Wednesday as planned.
That suggested AFTRA was trying to reach a deal before the start of the SAG negotiations, rather than give up its chance to set a precedent on behalf of actors.
The three-year contracts of both unions, representing a mix of prime-time TV and film actors, are set to expire June 30. The unions had previously negotiated together, but bickering led to the separate, leapfrog schedule of talks.
SAG, with 120,000 members, began its talks April 15. The negotiations were temporarily suspended so AFTRA, with 70,000 members, could start its talks on May 7.
The AFTRA talks over a handful of shows such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm" were in their 17th day on Tuesday.
The uncertainty over the negotiations has effectively halted the start of many major studio productions that couldn't be completed by the end of June.
SAG represents actors on major studio movie productions. So even if AFTRA were to cut a deal, SAG still could shut down Hollywood with a strike, much like the 100-day writers strike that ended in February threw a wrench into TV production.
Studios have banked some projects, but executives have warned that further delays could mean fewer movies make it to the big screen in late 2009.
AFTRA and the producers have maintained a formal news blackout on the state of talks. However, AFTRA's e-mail updates to its members have highlighted content on the Internet as a key sticking point.
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 "In addition to seeking improvements in compensation, coverage, and health and retirement benefits, we are also confronting a number of tough challenges involving new media," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said in an e-mail Sunday.
Both unions have said they would fight to maintain the control that actors now have over use of their voices and images in clips sold online.
The producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, have called the consent process antiquated and said it impedes their ability to create a "lawful clips market" in which it would share revenue with actors in lieu of obtaining their consent for every clip.
An agreement on the clips issue would likely serve as a detailed script for SAG to follow, and AFTRA has said it would brief SAG on the results of its negotiations.
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On the Net:
Screen Actors Guild: http://www.sag.org/
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists:
http://www.aftra.org/
[Associated
Press; By RYAN NAKASHIMA]
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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