Table set in SAG talks

Don't expect studios and networks to be very patient with the Screen Actors Guild on any contract demands that go above and beyond the deal they cut with writers and directors. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers released a letter today that lays out what it expects in the upcoming contract talks with both SAG and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the other actors union. The first line in the letter says that discussions "will be guided by the same principles that helped us reach groundbreaking agreements with the DGA and the WGA." This is probably all right for AFTRA, but SAG officials are said to have a long list of demands – and they’ve made it clear that they won’t be bound with contracts worked out by the other guilds. SAG talks get started next week.(Variety)