LOS ANGELES—Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday.
“We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement,” the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) said in a statement Tuesday night.
The actors could join the already striking Writers Guild of America and grind the already slowed production process to a halt if no agreement is reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The sides agreed to an extension before the original contract expiration date on June 30, resetting it to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m….