Hollywood studios have secured a tentative agreement with the second biggest performers' union in the US, but must still win over the Screen Actors' Guild or risk another long and expensive dispute, similar to the crippling TV and film writers' strike last winter.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, has reached an agreement in principle over wages and new media rights with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
AFTRA represents 70,000 actors working on TV dramas and sitcoms such as Rules of Engagement, Cashmere Mafia and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Roberta Reardon, the federation's national president, said this was a tough negotiation given the challenging times in the entertainment industry.
"In addition to achieving meaningful gains in compensation and working conditions for performers, it also establishes [our] jurisdiction in the dynamic area of new media and preserves performers' consent for use of excerpts of traditional TV shows in new media," Reardon added.
The agreement, which is yet to be approved by the federation's national board and ratified by union members, includes a sunset clause allowing both sides to revisit digital media payments.
Now the race is on for the studios to reach a similar understanding with the powerful SAG, which represents more than 122,000 actors in film, television and digital media, before the current deal expires at the end of June.
Talks between the SAG and the studios resumed yesterday after breaking down on May 6. The guild has promised to study the provisions offered to AFTRA and declared its desire "to keep the town working", but has reportedly also warned it would not simply accept the same terms as other unions.
Speculation is rife that Hollywood is bracing itself for an actors' strike that could be even more immediate and harmful than the three-month stand-off with the Writers Guild of America, which ended in February this year.
A statement from the studios' trade body yesterday said it looked forward to the resumption of talks with the guild and "reaching an new agreement that will prevent another harmful and unnecessary strike".
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