Negotiations on Actors’ Contracts Continue

Negotiations for a new TV and film contract dragged on Monday as actors and studios found a final agreement on money issues elusive.

Actors, represented by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, had been widely expected to have a deal completed with studios by the weekend, when the existing contract expired. But the pace of talks bogged down over the last two days.

Still, sources on both sides say they expect to settle soon.

One factor causing a delay involved a diminishing of SAG chief negotiator Brian Walton’s role after he arrived for the talks hours late Saturday afternoon. That, sources said, angered some of his fellow negotiators on the SAG team.

SAG spokesman Greg Krizman said Walton called in Saturday morning to say he had been involved in an automobile accident and did not arrive at the negotiations until 4 p.m. Krizman said he had no information on the specifics of the accident, but added that Walton appeared to be unhurt and was active in talks Sunday and Monday. Walton could not be reached for comment.

Krizman confirmed that after the incident veteran union negotiator John McGuire and guild strategic planner Sally Weaver became “more fully involved” in the talks, but he denied that Walton is being replaced.

McGuire is a longtime SAG executive who last year led negotiations during SAG’s six-month strike against advertisers. But he frequently clashed with the union’s new, more militant leadership over strategy and as a result was not chosen as the main negotiator for the TV and film contract.

Instead, Walton was hired in February as chief negotiator, a move that was praised by Hollywood labor and industry figures. A longtime Hollywood labor figure, Walton was formerly executive director of the Writers Guild of America before leaving in 1998.

SAG and AFTRA have used the negotiations to try to make gains for middle-income actors, which the unions define as those making from $30,000 to $70,000 annually. According to SAG, about 6,000 of its nearly 100,000 members make $30,000 to $70,000 a year. Seven out of 10 make less than $7,500, or no money at all from acting.

A key topic being discussed is finding ways to increase the payments that actors get for work that appears on cable TV.

One proposal would put more money into actors’ pockets by lowering, or eliminating, the contributions to SAG’s health and pension plans deducted from checks paid actors for cable TV work. Studios would then put more into the health and pension plan.

Under that plan, studios would be allowed to maintain the percentage rate they pay actors when shows are sold to cable channels. Studios had resisted doing that because they feared they would come under pressure to grant similar increases to directors and writers.

But studios also argued that the arrangement as proposed is too expensive, and have suggested that actors reduce other parts of the package to offset the added gains.

Actors are also expected to make progress in other areas, including increased minimums for TV work, a special increase for guest stars, better residuals for Fox network programs and added payments when shows reap a big price when they are sold to foreign TV channels.

Ever since talks started on May 15, both sides have said they are committed to trying to reach an agreement.

Odds of a strike decreased dramatically May 4 when the Writers Guild reached agreement with studios on a three-year, $41-million contract that was expected to serve as a template for actors.

Studios, which accelerated film production over the last year to beat any strike deadlines, are putting new projects on hold until they are certain of an agreement because pulling the plug on films in progress is expensive.

*

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this story.