LOS ANGELES (AFP) - George Clooney on Thursday called for an end to bitter wrangling between two Hollywood actors unions amid fears of another crippling entertainment industry strike.

Clooney said it was time for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to present a united front in crucial contract talks with major studios.

"Rather than pitting artist against artist, maybe we could find a way to get what both unions are looking for," he said in a statement.

Both SAG and AFTRA are in the process of seeking new deals with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to replace existing contracts which expire on June 30.

However SAG -- Hollywood's biggest acting union with around 120,000 members -- and the 70,000-strong AFTRA are at loggerheads after the smaller union agreed a tentative deal with AMPTP.

The two acting unions had previously negotiated contracts jointly but split earlier this year.

SAG's leaders claim the AFTRA agreement undermines their own contract negotiations, and have wheeled out star members such as Jack Nicholson and Ben Stiller to urge AFTRA's membership to reject the deal -- around 40,000 SAG members also belong to AFTRA.

AFTRA by contrast have recruited high-profile actors to declare support for the tentative deal, most notably two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

Clooney, however, warned that pitting artist against artist would be a fatal strategy for both actors unions.

"Because the one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power of the AMPTP," Clooney said.

The actors dispute has echoed the 14-week Hollywood screenwriters strike, which plunged the US entertainment industry into crisis and cost billions of dollars in losses according to some estimates.

The producers' alliance has said key obstacles to a new deal with the actors' guild were differences on royalties from DVD sales and new media.

SAG leaders have said they are prepared to continue negotiating beyond the June 30 contract expiration to get a deal if necessary.

Source: AFP