A trenchant article from the UK Independent’s Guy Adams, writing out of Hollywood, among which the most trenchant of all lines is this: “To have one trade union paralyse Hollywood was strange; two doing it in quick succession feels like carelessness.”
You bet. Hey, Hollywood, why not? As the world burns, economies crumble, and the fuel runs out, why the hell not have two-back-to-back shutdowns? Because, you know, Hollywood is recession proof. Right?
Cut! Actors’ strike threatens to bring Hollywood to a standstill
By Guy Adams in Los Angeles
To have one trade union paralyse Hollywood was strange; two doing it in quick succession feels like carelessness. A threatened walkout by actors, which could begin as early as next week, is throwing major film and television studios into chaos.
The contract dispute, this time between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and their white-collar bosses, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), is causing what industry experts have called a “virtual strike”.
Production deadlines for dozens of major projects have been scrapped amid growing signs that the SAG, which has 120,000 members, will fail to resolve its dispute before a deadline for industrial action on Tuesday next week.
Most major film shoots are now either being put on hold, or wrapping-up early to avoid disruption.
“No one is doing anything that finishes after 30 June, and nobody’s starting anything now,” one lawyer representing actors told The Hollywood Reporter. “This is the impact of a strike already.”
More at the link
