It’s week three of the Hollywood writers’ strike and despite the announcement that both sides are headed back to the bargaining table after Thanksgiving, things don’t appear to be improving for the TV or movie industry.
In fact, Variety is now reporting that the film industry saw its first group of flicks go up in smoke (hopefully not permanently). According to the new report, “Angels & Demons,” the prequel to the box office hit “The Da Vinci Code,” reuniting Tom Hanks and director, Ron Howard, has been put on hold due to script problems. The thriller was scheduled for a Christmas 2008 release, but has been pushed back until Summer 2009.
Variety is also reporting that another major film, “Pinkville,” directed by Oliver Stone starring Bruce Willis and Woody Harrelson has been shelved until further notice. The film reportedly centers on the investigation of the My Lai massacre in 1968.
On the television front, the strike has put NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” back in the headlines—-for all the wrong reasons. According to numerous news reports, NBC recently fired the late-night show’s entire production staff. Other reports claim a handful of key production staff members remain employed, while the actors are on unpaid hiatus.
Meanwhile, it is now official–CBS News writers are also on strike.
In a previous blog I mentioned that union leaders were waiting for the okay to begin a national strike. About 500 CBS News television and radio writers (the group is represented by the Writers Guild of America) – who work in New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago – have been working under an expired contract since April 2005. Representatives from CBS News and the WGA have not been at the negotiating table since January. The writers’ union objected to CBS’ demands to assign nonunion staff certain writing duties currently reserved for union employees and it is also dissatisfied with a wage package they call “unfair.”
In response to the work stoppage announcement CBS News execs said the network “remains fully prepared, and ready to continue producing the highest quality news programming.”
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