Actors don't want to lose grip on Web clips

Few things are more precious to actors than control over their images. A stark reminder of that came last week when the studios suspended contract talks with the Screen Actors Guild after three weeks of negotiations. A cause for the logjam: Actors balked at a studio proposal that would allow the studios to sell or license excerpts of TV shows and movies for use on the Internet, cellphones and other new-media devices -- without the actors' consent. "As an actor you want to control how your image is used and how studios get to exploit it," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said. "We can't erase 50 years of protections that we've had for our members." Studios counter that the decades-old consent requirement -- which gives actors a say over whether their images can be reused in a clip on another television show or film -- would tie their hands as they seek new ways to exploit their vast libraries on the Web and tap into a growing appetite among younger consumers for short-form entertainment.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-clips15-2008may15,0,44967.story
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