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Actors threaten to strike
05/03/2008 09:47 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The final epilogue
to the tumultuous writers strike has been written, but
Hollywood is bracing for a possible 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 labour 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 authorised to speak publicly about client issues.
Labour 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.
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 $3bn.
The walkout ended on 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 materialise.
But with tens of
millions of dollars at stake when a film production is
disrupted, movie studios are playing it safe.
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.
Wide concern
Michael Bay, director of the 2007 summer action blockbuster
Transformers, is keeping his fingers crossed as he sticks to
an early June start date for a sequel to the movie.
Given the wide concern, SAG leaders have been pressured 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 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 took out full-page
ads in Hollywood trade papers urging immediate negotiations.
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.
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South Africa
