Hollywood actors, studios agree to extend talks

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Screen Actors Guild and major Hollywood studios agreed on Wednesday to extend contract talks into a third week, allowing time to narrow what the studios called "significant gaps" between the two sides.

Like screenwriters who staged a tumultuous 100-day strike settled with the studios in February, the actors are seeking a greater share of revenues for entertainment delivered over the Internet.

They also want higher "residual" fees for films and TV shows distributed on DVD, a demand the writers were forced to drop after the studios refused to budge.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) talks began on April 15 under a two-week deadline, with the union's smaller sister, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, scheduled to open separate negotiations with producers on April 28.

But eight days into the talks, the actors' union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) issued a joint statement saying they had agreed to extend their bargaining session by one week through May 2.

The two sides, which have adhered to a strict media blackout during the negotiations, declined further comment.

But an AMPTP statement about the extension posted on its Web site added: "At this time there remain significant gaps between the two parties, and we hope to use the extra time to narrow these gaps."

The statement also said the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists had agreed to postpone the start of its talks until May 5 to accommodate the SAG extension.