Hollywood's biggest actors union and major studios Friday announced they have reached a tentative labor contract agreement, in a finale to months of protests, mutual criticisms and threats of an industry-wide strike.

The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major Hollywood studios, did not provide specifics of the tentative deal, which still needs to be approved by the SAG leadership and its membership.

Details of the agreement covering television programs and motion pictures will be reviewed by the SAG national board of directors over the weekend, according to a joint SAG-AMPTP statement.

"Screen Actors Guild will present the tentative agreement to the Screen Actors Guild board of directors for approval and referral to the membership for ratification," the statement said.

The previous SAG contract covering motion picture and television production expired June 30.

Negotiations for a new contract deadlocked in November when SAG demanded better terms than other entertainment industry unions received, including the Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

It was reported that the main sticking points during the talks were the amount of pay for programming shown over the Internet and DVD sales.

SAG, which has 120,000 members mainly in Los Angeles and New York, announced late last year it was going to hold a strike authorization vote, which would have given union leaders the power to call a strike.

However, the vote was never held due to the worsening economic recession and resistance from some members. Talks between the union and producers resumed in February.

Friday's tentative agreement will likely bring relief in the entertainment industry, which was fearful of a strike similar to the 14-week work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America from late 2007, which brought entertainment production to a halt and cost the Los Angeles area economy an estimated 3 billion dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2009)