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HOME Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our eighth calendar year! Number 398  (Vol. 8, No. 45). This edition is for the week of November 5--11, 2007. "Bee Movie" Halloween 2007 Wrap-Up, Screamfest '07 on Demand The Giant Spider Restoration The Greatest Mom In The World....Thanks to Friends....Halloween Garth .... Strike One .... Down By The Lazy River .... Passing On .... .... .... .... .... Whatever Happened To--? Chapter 32: Next Week: Sean Connery a Writer's Strike Plus... Star Trek Central Casting Readers Comments By now I'm sure all of you have heard the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of all TV and motion-picture writing professionals, has gone on stike, demanding a reassesment of residuals from sales of DVDs and, in particular, the internet. Hollywood producers balked, saying that their working overhead was still too high and internet sales were not worth haggling over. The writers begged to differ and the strike was on. What this means for the average TV viewer is television, by and large, and with very few exceptions, has been relegated to re-runs and whatever reality shows they can cook up quickly until this passes. Which could be weeks or even months (the previous strike in 1988 lasted 5 months). What this means for the motion picture industry is that any scripts written before the strike are still on the table (although, I imagine re-writes may get complicated), but any movie proposals that did not have completed scripts prepared up to now, including ones you may have already seen trailers for, are on indefinite hold. Among the first casulaties were the TV late-night talk shows and any others that depended on union writers. Here are some more odds-and-ends I got off the internet: Networks said the following shows will immediately go into reruns because of the writers strike: NBC: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Last Call with Carson Daly.” CBS: “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” Comedy Central: “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “Colbert Report.” Networks and publicists cited these other impacts: “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” will air new episodes on Monday and Tuesday that were filmed before the strike. ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” will air as usual Monday and Tuesday. CBS soap operas such as “The Young and the Restless,” “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” will continue uninterrupted for several months with completed scripts. ABC’s “The View” talk show will continue uninterrupted because of contingency plans made before the strike. ABC soaps, including “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital,” have been written into the new year and will not be interrupted. "The Oprah Winfrey Show” doesn’t employ union writers and will continue uninterrupted. Star Trek, Central Casting Do you have any unusual features like a big head or long neck or bug-eyes? YOU COULD BE IN THE NEXT STAR TREK FILM! (The script was completed before the Writers Guild strike.) They're casting for background extras for the newest Trek film which chronicles our heroes' adventures during their cadet days at Starfleet. From the Reuters press release: Paramount Pictures is holding an open casting call in Burbank, California, this Saturday to find background actors for the new "Star Trek" film and is seeking people with interesting and unique facial features. The casting call lists features such as "long necks, small heads, extremely large heads, wide-set eyes, bug eyes, close-set eyes, large forehead, short upper lip, pronounced cheekbones, over- or under-sized ears and/or nose, facial deformities." But it's not just odd-looking people they want. "Ultra plain-looking people, ultra perfect-looking people, pure wholesome looks, twins, triplets, emaciated talent, regally poised and postured talent, or other visually unique characteristics," are also on the list. The studio also is looking for thin, military types aged between 18 and 70 to portray Starfleet Academy cadets with marching experience who would not object to having their eyebrows shaved into a Vulcan-type shape. "Everyone must be thin, athletic, fit; wardrobe will be form-fitting," said the casting call posted online. The latest "Star Trek" movie, scheduled to open in theaters in December next year, is understood to follow the early days of the Enterprise crew. Director J.J. Abrams has cast Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike, the Starship Enterprise's first captain, to star alongside Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, and Karl Urban . Readers' Comments The Readers Comments section for this issue of PCR is now closed. To continue to interact, please use the Message Board or write a Letter to the Editor! The comments below are listed beginning with the most recent. Thank you. Crazed FanComments -- We Welcome Reader Feedback on any article(s) on this page. Nolan [08-11-2007 11:10]   To JMILLER2: The Con is only $5 to get in. One of the best bangs for the buck anywhere. Paul [08-11-2007 10:51]   One MILLION dollars! J.MILLER2 [08-11-2007 10:24]   Does anyone know the cost to get into the Comic Con on Sunday? ED [08-11-2007 09:56]   Glad everyone likes the spider. I was especially proud to save this goofy artifact from the 70's for posterity. I saw Giant Spider Invasion at the drive-in back in the 70's on a double bill with Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster. Those were the days! Andy - I was impressed by AMC's Monsterfest offerings this year. What made me made though is they played crap like the Frighteners, Hellraiser, and Halloween sequels into the ground all day and night while religating titles like you mention to one showing at five in the morning! Of course with all the commericials for Viagra they show it's no big loss. Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream can kiss my butt after they repainted Dr. Paul Bearer's hearse. net_flax [08-11-2007 01:38]   this is your chance indie film makers. strike while hollywood is on its knees. you can now get you films seen and produced because they have nothing else to put out!!!!!!!!! Matthew [07-11-2007 20:18]   Thanks for the welcome back Nolan. I'm sorry it has been so long since I've writen, but as I told you a couple weeks ago things have been busy in the north. I'm incredibly upset with myself that I didn't convey to Corey in person how much I love his Film Biz column. Not just the column itself, mind you, but the purpose and desire to help others. It just goes to show not only was my mom much more wonderful than I could ever tell you, but that she had an incredibly keen eye when it came to judgeing character. Just an excellent idea Corey. Terence [07-11-2007 19:03]   the spider lives again!!!!! Chris Woods [07-11-2007 16:28]   Very cool Retrorama this week ED. I'm glad you got the spider fixed up. Enjoyed the article. Nolan [07-11-2007 12:27]   My favorite editorial cartoon dealing with the writers strike is out of the newspaper -- it features a picket line whose members' signs are blank. Great Retrorama this week -- a follow-up of sorts to the Giant Spider Invasion from last January! Thanks ED. And a hearty welcome back to Matt's Rail. [31-12-1969 16:00]   End of Comments

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