Screen Actors Guild to Ask for OK to Strike

Marathon talks between Hollywood's largest actors union and producers broke off early Saturday with the Screen Actors Guild saying it will ask its members to authorize a strike. SAG's contract with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expired June 30 with the two sides unable to agree on how actors would be paid when movies and TV shows are distributed through "new media," such as mobile phones and the Internet. "As previously authorized by the national board of directors, we will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization referendum," SAG said in a written statement Saturday. There was no mention of when a strike referendum might be called. SAG and AMPTP representatives came together under the guidance of a federal mediator Thursday for their first talks since July. The effort ended at 1 a.m. Saturday after 27 hours of talks.