2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike

[Rappy Veteran]

24 will air in 2009 unfort but still I want to see 24 in a row rather then 8 then gap.

[episode]

They only filmed 8 episodes. It won't be hard to keep consistency, Lost does it all the time, so has Heroes. This will be just like in between seasons. The only thing that would suck is if something serious happened to one of the actors between seasons, but that's a constant fear now.

Like if Mary Lynn Rajskub got pregnant?

Oh wait, she did. Though I don't know if she is even in Day 7 or not.

[Rappy Veteran]

Like if Mary Lynn Rajskub got pregnant?

Oh wait, she did. Though I don't know if she is even in Day 7 or not.

Yeah I think its a whole new department because CTU disbanded.

[episode]

Yeah I think its a whole new department because CTU disbanded.

That doesn't mean she isn't in it. She could work somewhere else, or Jack could just call her as a civilian when he needs help.

[Rappy Veteran]

That doesn't mean she isn't in it. She could work somewhere else, or Jack could just call her as a civilian when he needs help.

True 24 wouldn't be 24 without a "dammit Chloe" :p

[Mathachew Veteran]

In case you guys didn't see the Day 7 preview, Chloe is in it, just unsure about in what capacity.

[Rappy Veteran]

The final epilogue to the tumultuous writers strike has been written, but Hollywood is bracing for a possible a sequel to the costly walkout -- this one starring film and television actors.

While the TV industry has rushed to bring derailed shows back on the air since screenwriters returned to work three weeks ago, the threat of renewed labor unrest by actors in the months ahead has put movie studios in a tenuous situation.

Filmmakers are reluctant to launch any production that cannot be completed before the expiration of the Screen Actors Guild's major film and TV contract on June 30 -- a date being treated as the union's de facto strike deadline.

Assuming a typical 60-day movie shoot, plus extra time for days off, possible overruns and re-shoots that might be necessary, that means few if any big-studio movies will start filming after the end of this month, industry experts say.

"The studios for the most part are not greenlighting any movies that would have to be in production after that (June 30) deadline," said an insider at one leading talent agency who was not authorized to speak publicly about client issues.

Labor jitters have even prompted Hollywood's leading insurance carrier, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co, to offer a first-of-its-kind "strike expense" policy for studios.

The policy covers the costs of a strike-related production shutdown in the event that an actor's illness, equipment damage or other unexpected loss pushes the shooting schedule of a movie past SAG's June 30 contract deadline.

To qualify, a film must be scheduled to finish shooting by June 15 and already be covered by a so-called completion bond, which insures a movie's financial backers against the cost of failing to finish a picture on time and on budget.

STRIKE FATIGUE

Nerves are still raw from a 14-week strike by 10,500 writers that shut down much of the television industry and derailed numerous film projects, idling thousands of production workers and costing the local economy some $3 billion.

The walkout ended February 12 after the two sides reached agreement on a deal giving writers more money for work distributed over the Internet. The contract was formally ratified by the Writers Guild of America membership last week.

The Screen Actors Guild shares many of the same contract demands. But SAG also faces issues unique to its 120,000 members, such as forced commercial endorsements through product placement in TV shows and movies.

Many in Hollywood believe strike fatigue is running too high for another work stoppage to materialize. But with tens of millions of dollars at stake when a film production is disrupted, movie studios are playing it safe. Some of the industry's biggest names are caught up in the uncertainty.

Steven Spielberg has called off the April start to a DreamWorks film about the trial of the 1968 anti-war activists, the Chicago Seven, according to Daily Variety newspaper

Michael Bay, director of the 2007 summer action blockbuster "Transformers," is keeping his fingers crossed as he and DreamWorks stick to an early June start date for a sequel to the movie.

"If there is a strike, we shut down. But shutting down isn't that big a deal," Bay told Variety, explaining that he hoped to mitigate the cost of a potential disruption by working out special deals in advance with equipment vendors and sound stages where he would shoot.

Independent producers who rely on third-party financing lack such flexibility because investors require completion bonds, which insurance companies are hesitant to issue for any film that cannot be finished by June 15.

"There were a number of projects that we had to surrender on and admit there was just no way to meet the bond deadline," producer Paul Schiff, whose credits include "Rushmore" and "Date Movie," told the Los Angeles Times.

PRESSURE FOR TALKS

Meanwhile, SAG leaders have come under mounting pressure to open contract talks with the major studios as soon as possible, leading to tensions between the guild and its sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

SAG President Alan Rosenberg, who campaigned on a promise to take an aggressive stance at the bargaining table, has insisted the guild will not be ready to begin official talks before early April.

Some leaders of AFTRA and SAG's New York wing have agitated for talks to begin sooner, as have several high-profile actors, including George Clooney and Tom Hanks, who met with Rosenberg over dinner last month. They and other stars also took out full-page ads in Hollywood trade papers calling for immediate negotiations.

And over 1,000 SAG members recently presented Rosenberg with a petition urging the union to limit any voting on a new contract or strike authorization to those members who have worked a specified number of days during the past six years.

Rosenberg said he opposes the idea but would take it to SAG's governing board at its next meeting in April.

Rosenberg and SAG executive director Doug Allen recently suggested that informal talks like those that led to contracts with the WGA and the Directors Guild of America, were already under way. "We will certainly continue to meet with the CEOs of the major networks and studios as we prepare for formal negotiations," they wrote in a February 28 memo to members.

[Reuters]

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[Hurmoth]

I don't know, I don't see the actors walking out. There have been a lot of A-list actors already petitioning their heads to start negotiating, I don't see those same actors voting to go on strike, plus that is a long time away. Way to early, IMO, to start thinking of a strike. Usually SAG starts talking with the AMPTP 3-6 months before the end of their contract (6/30), so there's still plenty of time for them all to sit down and talk, and most likely they'll agree to the same or very similar terms that the WGA and DGA agreed to.

[Crazysah]

I really hope the actors do not go on strike now. It will really hurt the TV industry.

[Rappy Veteran]

Unions representing TV and film actors in the US have abandoned their plans to work together in forthcoming contract negotiations with Hollywood studios.

The two groups were due to agree a start date for negotiations on Saturday but the TV union instead voted to sever ties with the Screen Actors Guild.

The move comes just three months before Hollywood's contract with the stars of film and prime-time TV expires.

Several A-list stars have appealed for an early start to negotiations.

Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro took out adverts in US trade papers last month urging leaders to begin contact talks as soon as possible.

It is feared that a delay could lead to a walk-out similar to the writers' strike, which crippled film and TV production earlier this year.

'Calculated and cynical'

In a statement, the board of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) accused the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) of sabotage.

It referred in particular to a recent dispute over which union represented the stars of daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

"For the past year SAG leadership in Hollywood has engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement," wrote president Roberta Reardon.

In response, SAG president Alan Rosenberg wrote that the television guild's "refusal now to bargain together with us and their last-second abandonment of the joint process is calculated [and] cynical".

"It may serve the interests of their institution, but not its members," he added.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the film and TV studios, said on Saturday that they look forward to bargaining with AFTRA in a statement that made no direct mention of SAG.

"We are pleased to learn that AFTRA is ready to begin talks immediately," it said.

"We are determined, as we have always been, to work hard and bargain reasonably with the actors' unions so that we can all avoid another harmful, unnecessary strike."

The body emphasised that it had contacted the actors' unions seven weeks ago to say it was ready to begin negotiations.