Hollywood braced for 'double strike' as actors' deadline looms

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is locked in last-minute negotiations with the likes of Netflix and Disney, with the deadline fast approaching at midnight Friday (0700 GMT Saturday). The labor union's 160,000 actors and performers -- from A-listers to extras -- have pre-approved industrial action if a deal is not struck in time. Rebecca Metz, who has starred in FX's "Better Things" and Showtime's "Shameless," told AFP it is "massively harder" for actors -- even established ones -- to earn a living in Hollywood these days. While the writers' strike has already dramatically reduced the number of movies and shows in production, an actors' walkout would shutter almost everything. It places logistical and technological burdens on actors, and robs them of feedback from casting directors.