Filming schedules this year embraced an assembly-line like ?speeding-up? as producers braced for a potential actor?s strike, in the immediate wake of a finally-concluded writer?s strike. Filming in LA has come to a virtual standstill, when just a few months ago an unheard-of 17 big budget films were racing to the finish. Local 44 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees has only about 2/3 of its active members currently employed, and many worry over the economic consequences of losing films that employ hundreds and make millions. The actors? contract ran out in June, and as of yet, no new agreement has been reached. A rift remains, particularly over pay for work distributed through new media. Nevertheless, an actors? strike is now thought unlikely, and several films have been given the go-ahead.
See "Major film studios in Los Angeles grind almost to a halt", Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2008