Hollywood - In a speech on Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild's midyear membership meeting in Universal City, Calif., SAG president William Daniels accused studios and television networks of using "scare tactics" in their ongoing contract negotiations, The New York Times reports. Nonetheless, Daniels remains convinced a deal will be made, and he expressed confidence in the guild's negotiating team. SAG is asking for large pay increases for middle-income actors and wants companies to take steps to curb their increasing tendency to shoot in Canada and other foreign countries because of cheaper wages and tax incentives. Daniels read part of a letter from the president of Canada's actors union, Thor Bishopric, asking American film and television companies not to play the two unions against one another.
Negotiations between SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Arts (AFTRA) began on May 15.