HOLLYWOOD - Hollywood studios have sparked fears of an actors strike after insisting they will not accept pay raises demanded by the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG).
In an official statement released by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group insists there are still "significant gaps" in its own needs and what the SAG want--even after 13 days of talks.
Actors belonging to SAG are threatening walkouts in June if talks between the union and the AMPTP fail to resolve a dispute over pay and conditions.
But the production company announced it "was not willing to accept" requests to double the payments actors receive from DVD sales and to increase fees paid for work distributed online.
Retorting to the announcement in a statement to its members, SAG says, “We are not surprised that the employers dispute the economic hardships actors are facing. You know better."
The union has set a June 30 deadline--the day their current contract expires--for negotiations to be resolved. If the strike goes ahead it could put hundreds of major film and TV projects under threat.
It follows a 100-day writers strike in Hollywood, which ended in February after causing an estimated $2.5 billion in economic losses in the Los Angeles area.
http://www.hollywood.com/news/Studios_Wont_Accept_Actors_Pay_Demands/5228565
