Strike Two: This time, it will be a swing and a miss for film producers

By Steven Zeitchik

With SAG deadlines bearing down, it's becoming increasingly clear that while the writer's strike was primarily a television stoppage, this one, if it happens, will be a film one. Part of that is a function of the calendar -- when the WGA walked off, most television productions should have been in full swing, whereas now those shows are getting ready for summer hiatus anyway. Many film producers, on the other hand, desperately need to shoot now if they're going to meet studio slate needs, festival deadlines, etc.

But the other factor is the nature of the strike itself, which is designed to yank out the rug from projects that take longer to gestate and shoot -- that is, films. By its nature a writers walkoff freezes things early in the development process, which means as long as you're past a certain hurdle (i.e.,  the script stage) you could move ahead unaffected. But an actors strike freezes it later, when a project is seemingly in good shape, and so it means that you have to stop production even months ahead of the actual walkout lest a strike halt you mid-shoot.

That's why any film that wasn't already in pre-production sometime in April isn't going to get started now -- while television shows like "Ugly Betty," because they can begin and wrap over the span of a few weeks, will start shooting a new crop of episodes for their strike reserve beginning as late as June. About the only movies that will get made as we enter this dead zone between now and the potential walkout on July 1 (and it will be a dead zone, as Leslie Simmons' story in today's THR about the latest sorry state of negotiations makes clear) are a group of productions that might best be described as suffering from the Paul Krugman effect -- that is, no middle class. These productions are either really rich or really poor.

The biggest franchises are still going now because productions are so expensive anyway that shutting them down if a strike comes at the end of June amount to little more than a rounding error. (One exec today noted that this is a list so small it can be counted on two hands, with a few fingers left over for other purposes).

At the other end of the spectrum are the indie productions that have received waivers. They'll also be starting in the next two months because they can sail right past the July 1 date as carefree as a schoolboy at recess. Again, this is a small number, because of course in order to obtain the waiver you need to show SAG that no part of your financing comes from any company that might get struck.

It is true that these indie films might now get a higher cut of talent -- both crews and actors are, anecdotally, taking gigs with productions they'd normally eschew because they want to be assured of work. Thin silver linings underneath larger black clouds? Sounds like another Hollywood labor mess to us.

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[ryan]

“Wages of Fear,” “Convoy,” Smokey and the Bandit” and “Duel”

Remember these great flicks? What are they? Road movies, of course, but more importantly, they are trucking films. Here is a genre nearly forgotten that Navistar, which builds legendary International trucks, hopes to single-handedly revive.

The company that just launched a revolution in long haul trucking by building the mold-shattering LoneStar Class 8 tractor is now launching another first - a student film competition that will ask aspiring auteurs and cineastes to celebrate the lives and labors of long-distance truck drivers in a short film format.

You could be the next Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah or even Henri-Georges Clouzot.

On May 1, 2008, Navistar is sending out a call for entries to approximately 50 universities and film schools around the country asking ambitious filmmakers to hit the road and produce short films or videos that honor the American trucker. These mavericks will then submit their final product in a competition to win film school tuition or top-notch camera equipment.

Academy award nominated producer/director Brett Morgan (Chicago 10, The Kids Stays in the Pictures) will chair a jury of filmmakers who will judge all submissions. First, second and third prize winners will premiere their films at The Great American Trucking show in Dallas, Texas, on August 22, 2008, and will be featured as streaming content on InternationalTrucks.com. The films will also be included as bonus material on a DVD with “Stand Alone,” Brett Morgen’s upcoming Navistar-funded documentary about truckers.

It’s time for filmmakers to release the jake-brake, hammer down, and make cinema that really matters, films about real life on the road. Put it this way: if America’s drivers decided to stop working, the entire country would shut down. We depend on truckers to deliver everything we own and consume. Truckers are that important. They are true American heroes.

Merle Haggard sang it this way: “The whiteline is a lifeline for the nation… It takes a special breed to be a truck drivin' man, And a steady hand to pull that load behind.”