Hollywood Blog

Strike Two!!!

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After the crippling writer’s strike Hollywood surely must have learned their lesson and must be (should be!) doing all they can to ensure that the issues with the actors’ guild are cleared up before the June 30 deadline.

So far the deal with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (AFTRA) is going smoothly with a tentative agreement already reached last May 7. The agreement will be reviewed on June 6 and 7 by the national union board.

On the other hand the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is feeling the pressure of closing a deal and not causing the same problems with unresolved issues that happened with writers. Sag is still not satisfied and negotiations are reportedly on shaky ground mainly due to differences in opinion regarding royalties for DVDs and internet clips.

Aside from problems with negotiations with producers SAG also seems to have a bit of tension with AFTRA since they are after all holding negotiations with producers separately for the first time in three decades.

As for how the negotiations go and as to whether we’ll be seeing another strike, this time by actors, in the near future we can’t really tell and must simply wait for SAG to make their move. Hopefully though the strike doesn’t realise and new films start rolling into production again…

Originally posted on May 30, 2008 @ 11:44 pm

Spielberg quits Olympics

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Hollywood producer Steven Spielberg has quit his position in the Beijing Olympics following criticism from people in the industry.

Some of the nastier comments that Spielberg received came from actress Mia Farrow:”Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?” Riefenstahl was the German filmmaker and propogandist.

Originally posted on March 21, 2008 @ 9:14 am

Whooohooooo!!!!

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It’s official. The writer’s strike is over!

“The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry. We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best — writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences,” said union honchos in a joint statement.

Originally posted on February 13, 2008 @ 9:19 pm

Trend: foreigners invade Hollywood

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The list of Oscar winners reveals an interesting trend towards foreigners beating Hollywood at its own game.

However, many studios are becoming more confident in foreign directors, including Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian-born and Russian-language filmmaker whose previous hits — “Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor” — aren’t exactly what you’d call household names.

This foreign invasion reflects how global the movie industry has become.

Originally posted on March 4, 2008 @ 10:19 am

Jerry Bruckheimer on Hollywood

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“Jerry Bruckheimer has crashed more cars, saved more planets and blown up more airplanes than any man alive,” says one magazine article.

Jerry Bruckheimer is the great producer behind muscle blockbusters like Armageddon, The Rock, and Pirates of the Carribean. TV hits include CSI and Amazing Race.

He came from a poor, Jewish immigrant family. His parents would bring them to the matinee every weekend, and the films became his escape from his meager childhood.

No wonder he described Hollywood like this: “We are in the transport business. We transport audiences from one place to another.”

Originally posted on February 1, 2008 @ 4:30 pm