Talks between Hollywood's major actors union and studios over a new three-year labor contract entered the fourth week on Monday, three days after the union backed off some of its demands.

The negotiations earlier had been scheduled to end Friday, but the two sides agreed to continue to meet this week through Tuesday, in hopes of breaking an impasse. The union's current contract with the studios expires on June 30.

The extension came after the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) dropped its demand to double residuals paid to actors from DVD sales. The guild is instead seeking a 15 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the largest movie and television companies in the talks, has refused to change the decades-old formula.

SAG has also scaled back other demands, including an 80 percent increase in pay for stand-in actors and a 50 percent increase for guest stars, sources said.

The two sides are still reportedly apart on the amount of pay for shows streamed over the Internet and what programs created for the Internet would be covered under the union's contract.

However, negotiators said they were trying to avoid a repeat of the recent 100-day writers strike, which crippled almost all new productions in the entertainment industry.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2008)