People Are Talking

Dave McNary of Variety sets the table as contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers begin

With Hollywood thoroughly unnerved by the prospect of a summer strike, the Screen Actors Guild and the majors begin negotiations today on the feature-primetime contract -- but without AFTRA after a last-ditch peacemaking effort by SAG fell flat.

The talks were set to launch at 10 a.m. PT at the Encino headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. And they won't include the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists even though SAG asked its sister union late Sunday to rejoin it at the bargaining table, two weeks after AFTRA angrily split off from SAG.

SAG told AFTRA it would have until Wednesday to respond, but AFTRA didn't need nearly that long. AFTRA national exec director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth fired off a frosty letter to SAG counterpart Doug Allen that dismissed the idea out of hand, asserting it was impossible to gather negotiating committee members on short notice and stressing that the problems that caused the divorce hadn't been resolved...

The lead up to it all doesn't sound that promising does it?

Stay Tuned...