US actors union agrees to extend talks as A-list stars show they are ready to strike

Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and others lend their names to demand a strong deal as writers' strike enters third month

The US actors' union and Hollywood studios announced in a statement on Friday that the two sides had agreed to extend their current labor deal through 12 July, hours before a midnight deadline.

The parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout," the parties said.