KEY POINTS:
One side aligns with stars such as Mel Gibson, Holly Hunter and thousands of colleagues from Los Angeles.
The other is with Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and a group of angry renegades known as the "New York faction". Brad Pitt, for the time being, is sitting on
the fence.
A proposed actors' strike that would shut film and TV production across the US has started a civil war between East and West Coast members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). The dispute taps time-honoured rivalries between the cities that are the principal artistic hubs of America's entertainment industry.
The latest kerfuffle involves a vote over whether the SAG's 120,000 members should walk out in protest at stalled contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The SAG's Los Angeles-based leadership, which has been leading the talks, is urging supporters to vote for industrial action.
But the SAG's New York branch is vehemently opposed, saying a strike would cripple the industry and cause hardship. Tempers spilled over last week when the union's president, Alan Rosenberg, travelled from Los Angeles to address members in New York. He spent much of the evening being shouted down, and was repeatedly called "inept" and a "liar".
Afterwards, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin, a hardline anti-strike New York member, called for Mr Rosenberg and his colleagues to resign, saying, "They have failed as negotiators."
Union rules require 75 per cent of members to support strike action in the secret ballot; the result will be announced on January 23, two days before the SAG's annual awards.
On paper, it looks tight. Roughly 60 per cent of members belong to the Hollywood branch, 25 per cent to New York, and the remaining 15 per cent to regional branches.
Both factions have been courting celebrity endorsements.
An anti-strike petition written by New York member Rhea Perlman, wife of Danny DeVito, has been signed by about 150 A-listers, including Glenn Close, Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Morgan Freeman.
"We support our union and we support the issues we're fighting for, but we do not believe now is the time to be putting people out of work," it said.
The LA-based SAG leadership has a pro-strike declaration signed by 2300 "ordinary" members including Matthew Modine, Nancy Sinatra and Martin Sheen, and plans a $100,000 advertising campaign.
The dispute reflects wider tensions. Historically, most TV shows and films were made in California. But increasing numbers are migrating to other states to secure tax breaks. Many of the hottest TV shows are now filmed in New York.
If the dispute does lead to strike action, many TV networks have hinted that they may force actors to join a smaller rival union.
- INDEPENDENT