Strike Fears Grow as SAG Talks End Without Deal

Fears of another big Hollywood strike mounted yesterday after strained talks between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild ended without a deal, the Los Angeles Times reports. Negotiations closed on a bitter note after studio representatives walked away, calling the actors' demands unreasonable. "We wanted to stay in the room and make a deal and our pleas were ignored," said SAG's president.

As the June 30 contract deadline looms, SAG is considering an offer from the studios to start talks again in three weeks. For now, studio representatives are in talks with AFTRA, a smaller actors union, hoping to forge a deal that can be used to pressure SAG. Residuals for new media and DVD sales—two of the big issues that led to the writers' walkout—are the main sticking points between SAG and the studios. (More Screen Actors Guild stories.)