The actors’ strike could get dirty for actors low on cash this summer. Regulars of, for example, ‘Lost,’ ‘CSI’ and ‘Ugly Betty’ claim the studios still owe them a big chunk of cash, a back pay caused by the writers’ strike last winter. They were temporarily suspended during the strike, but their contracts entitles them to 2,5 weeks’ pay when suspended for ‘extraordinary circumstances.’

The Screen Actors Guild says hundreds of actors still owe over $10 million in paychecks. “The employers have refused to live up to their contractual obligations and have instead attempted to shift the studios’ financial obligations onto the backs of the actors who are their employees,” a spokesman said, totally shifting the focus of their current negotiations.

The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, spokesman for the studios, could not comment because of the pending judgment on this case.

After the AFTRA deal yesterday, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is back to negotiate theirs. After they failed to cut a deal with the studios for several weeks, the SAG had to make way for the AFTRA’s negotiations at the beginning of May. Hollywood now hopes the AFTRA deal will have a positive effect on the talks with the SAG. But their leaders say they still disagree on half a dozen key disputes.

SAG president Alan Rosenberg wasn’t praising the AFTRA. “The SAG negotiating committee and staff will thoroughly analyze and evaluate the principles of a tentative AFTRA deal with the AMPTP,” he carefully noted. No congratulations, no nothing. “We look forward to hearing more during a face-to-face briefing with AFTRA’s negotiating committee as soon as AFTRA provides the opportunity,” Rosenberg added.

With no solution for the online clip consent and DVD residuals disputes, it looks like the SAG may go past its deadline at the end of June. But the studios are still hoping for a happy ending. “We now look forward to the resumption of talks with SAG, to building on the foundation laid during our first round of SAG talks and to reaching an agreement that will prevent another harmful and unnecessary strike.“

The AFTRA (Radio and Television) today agreed on new contracts with the studios, a small three weeks after the negotiations started. “This is a challenging time in the entertainment industry, and this was a tough negotiation,” an AFTRA spokesman said. The deal comes as quite a surprise, since the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) negotiations dragged on and on last month and were broken off to make way for the AFTRA. This will put extra pressure on the SAG, which was already accused of setting unreasonable demands.

“Our ability to achieve these crucial breakthroughs for performers was a direct result of AFTRA members’ pragmatic approach to collective bargaining,” the AFTRA said, taking a small stab at the SAG. The main dispute between the AFTRA and the studios were online clips. The studios wanted to be able to show them without consent, while the AFTRA wanted their members to approve such clips. The two now agreed to have a broader system, where members can approve for example the clips from an entire TV series.

It was the first time in 27 years that the SAG and AFTRA bargained separately. The SAG, which has three times as many members, is expected to resume their talks shortly.