Hollywood: George Clooney plays peacemaker as strike looms

[Omaha Steve]

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2289490,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

A-list actors square up as dispute over pay deal threatens shutdown of film and TV studios

Paul Harris in New York
Sunday July 6, 2008
The Observer

Hollywood is this week on the brink of a damaging actors' strike, with A-list stars fighting each other about whether or not to join the picket lines. In the middle of it all is George Clooney, playing the peacemaker among Hollywood's divided acting aristocracy and urging a united front against the film studio bosses.

If it were a summer blockbuster, the looming strike would probably get terrible reviews for its complex storyline and confusing all-star cast. But the truth is simple: Hollywood could shut down as actors strike over a new pay deal, derailing billions of dollars' worth of films and TV shows.

That could set back the production schedules of dozens of huge movies and see popular programmes sent into repeats or cancelled. It would also hit a California economy already squeezed by a national downturn and a 100-day Hollywood writers' strike that only ended in February.

Peter Bart, editor-in-chief of film industry magazine Variety, predicts a nightmare scenario ahead for the entertainment industry in Los Angeles if a settlement is not reached soon. 'The impact on the town psychologically and economically would be devastating,' he warned. 'The lemmings are running out of running space. And it's a long way down.'

It's not just Los Angeles that would be hit. Filming in other entertainment centres, including New York, would also grind to a halt.

The strike has been threatened by the Screen Actors' Guild, which last week held fruitless final pay negotiations with the studios, largely over future income from DVD sales. The guild has now urged its 120,000 members to prepare for a possible strike this week, though it has not yet scheduled a strike ballot.

FULL story at link.

[hendo]

1. I've said it before and i will say it again

The demands of millionaires make unions look bad. At least some of the millionaires aren't supporting this strike and realize the consequences this could have for an economy already that has already hit dire straights.

[Tunkamerica]

2. the actors?

i'm sure you realize the vast majority of actors are not millionaires. Ask my aunt, she did the acting thing for ten years in the 80's, she teaches school now.

[aquart]

3. The millionaires aren't making the demands.

Right now it's the failure of the millionaires to step up and support their union brethren that's the problem. The producers (also millionaires) don't feel any pressure to settle.

Whatever happens, the millionaires won't feel the pinch.

It's a complete failure of American education that you would even think of making such a ridiculous statement, btw.

[hendo]

4. Question for you

What gives someone the right to keep getting paychecks after they are paid for their movie the first time? Fsck royalties, they got paid once, everyone else just gets paid once for a days work. They should be no different.