As the SAG contract expiration approaches on Monday, the New York Times looks at the reasons there might be a strike—and why, because of the threat of a strike, there will be a de facto “strike” for many movies anyway:
Labor unrest continues to dominate the landscape in Hollywood, and the possibility of a strike by actors has large movie studios planning to shut down production after Monday and has television studios rushing to complete episodes of series scheduled to return in the fall or January.
Most major movie studios long ago scheduled their big projects to finish shooting by Monday, the expiration date of the contract between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Screen Actors Guild.
Meanwhile, Kim Masters at Slate argues why there won’t be a strike, no way, no how:
Already, production has slowed way down in Hollywood because no one wants to be caught with the cameras rolling if the actors were to walk. But SAG hasn’t even called for strike authorization (which would take three weeks and the approval of 75 percent of those voting). The reason seems obvious: The union wouldn’t get it. The economy sucks, and the rank and file simply don’t have the appetite for a strike after the Writers Guild walkout earlier this year.