Hollywood Scramble

Movie studios are racing to get as many projects into production as fast as they can to avoid getting caught out as a series of potentially strike-inducing labor union contract talks approach.

At issue, at least for the writers and actors, are the particularly sticky issues of compensation and digital distribution. The writers' contracts expire this October and the actors and directors contracts are up next June.

How worried are the studios? Well, no films are currently set to shoot next July. None.

But that is not because fewer films are in the works. Indeed, top actors like Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn, Matt Damon, and Jim Carrey are all looking to book (or have booked) "pre-strike" pictures that wrap by June 30, 2008.

As Michael Cieply notes in the New York Times, "no studio wants to be caught with filming on its schedule, especially under expensive 'pay or play' deals" that are part of most A-list actors' contracts.

But no top-level talent will sign on to a project without having a look at a the final script, so the heat has been turned up on screenwriters as well.

by Tim Swanson

More Hollywood Deal posts by Tim Swanson can be found here.