Talks Will Be Expanded in Actors Strike

Representatives of the advertising industry and actors will continue negotiating next week as efforts stepped up to end the 20-week strike by actors.

Both sides plan to bring their full negotiating committees to New York for the sessions, yet another sign that progress is being made toward ending the dispute.

The two sides, which had previously not met since July, bargained for three straight days this week at the behest of federal mediators in sessions that sources said were lacking in the level of animosity that has marked previous talks. Although both sides are abiding by a gag order on the talks, observers have concluded that progress is being made.

Federal mediator John Muir said the three days of talks were productive.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike May 1 against the industry. Actors have stepped up their pressure in the last week with rallies in New York and Los Angeles, with major stars taking up the cause. Tom Hanks spoke at a rally in Los Angeles. Harrison Ford and Kevin Spacey donated $100,000 each for financial assistance to striking actors.

Advertisers have been pushing to pay actors a flat fee when they appear in ads on both network and cable TV, while actors want to be paid each time an ad runs on both network and cable.