Call for actor unity from Clooney

Clooney said the wrangle strengthened the position of studios

Hollywood's two acting unions must stop wrangling and fight as one for a better pay deal, George Clooney has urged.

Deals between studios and both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) run out next week.

The bigger SAG union wants members of AFTRA to vote against a deal its bosses have already struck with studios.

Clooney said that "pitting artist against artist" would only strengthen the negotiating power of studios.

SAG, which represents 120,000 actors in movies, wants a better deal for members when their work is sold on DVD and when film and TV clips are streamed online.

The one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson v Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power of the studios George Clooney Hollywood on tenterhooks

Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin are among high-profile actors who have provided support for AFTRA's tentative deal.

But star SAG members, including Jack Nicholson and Ben Stiller, have urged AFTRA's 70,000-strong membership to reject the deal, saying it undermined the bigger union's position.

Clooney said in a statement that the fight was counterproductive.

"Rather than pitting artist against artist, maybe we could find a way to get what both unions are looking for.

"Because the one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson v Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power of the studios."

The two unions previously negotiated contracts together but split earlier this year.

Production worries

With SAG locked in protracted negotiations over a new contract, the entertainment industry is winding down in anticipation of another damaging stoppage.

Scores of film and television projects have been put on hold because the studios do not want to risk having to halt production if actors walk off the job.

Hollywood production is expected to stop altogether next week with only a few independent projects continuing because they have been given special permission by SAG.

SAG offered strong support to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in its three-month strike - which ended in February - over the same issue of work sold on DVD and internet streaming.

TV and film production was crippled by the strike and it led to the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony.