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…

If any one knows how important image and aggressive advertisement is, it’s Hollywood. The good thing is that those in the industry are using this knowledge and experience on how to aggressively campaign to build awareness of something they deem important to let more people know about the need for a more affordable health care.

Hollywood organisations that are working hand in hand with AARP include Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS), the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

AARP has long been an advocate of affordable health care and is involved actively in ensuring that people of all ages get to buy cheap insurance by allowing HMOs to use it’s name to sell its affordable packages. AARP’s health insurance sales are such a success that in fact they earn more from health insurance than from member dues.

Now with the “Divided We Fail” initiative of the AARP supported by the hollywood industry it hopes to be able to “galvanize the public into taking action”, which according to MPTF’s Foundation Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg,” is the key first step to solving them [the health care problem].”

Hollywood stars that have joined them in helping spread the word include big names such as Ben Affleck, Garth Brooks, Dakota Fanning, Morgan Freeman, Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Piven and Reese Witherspoon.

Randy Miller, the owner of Rocky, is being investigated by PETA to determine whether his actions somehow contributed to the fatal “attack” of the bear on it’s trainer, Stephen Miller.

Stephen Miller died after being bit by the 700 lb, 7 1/2-foot-tall bear on the neck while shooting a promotional video. Witnesses claim that the bear bite was an accident and that it was just a playful behavior on the part on the bear that turned into a tragedy since the trainer was bit in a very vulnerable spot. One bite was all it took. Prior to the biting incident everything seemed to have been going well with the bear was licking Stephen Miller’s face. Everyone who’s been in contact with the bear knows that the bear is actually surprised because Rocky is known for his good disposition and is fact touted as being one of the “best trained” animals in Hollywood.

Despite the bear’s good record PETA seems skeptical about the bear’s state especially since last year, during an inspection, they have deemed Miller’s training facility and sanctuary as not suitable for many of the wild animals that lived there.

Whatever happens this is indeed a tragedy not only for Stephen Miller and his family but also for the bear who surely was not at fault, accident or no.

Rocky is best known for his appearance in Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell.

Although I usually veer away from politics this year’s election is turning out to be an exciting one in terms of who’s supporting who. So far Barack Obama is proving to be the big Hollywood magnet with Hillary Clinton following and John McCain having just a few celebrity endorsers.

For those interested here are some of the endorsers for each candidate:

Big Names Behind Barack
Oprah Winfrey
Bruce Sprinsteen
George Clooney
Scarlett Johansson
Edward Norton
Larry David
Kal Penn
Jamie Foxx
Garry Shandling
Linda Ronstadt
Paul Newman
Will Smith
Geena Davis
Ellen Pompeo,
Isaiah Washington
Laurence Fishburne
Matt Damon
Emilio Esteves
Sharon Stone
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Halle Berry
Charles Barkley
Ben Affleck
Sinbad (Yes this is the same Sinbad who blew open the lid when Sen Clinton “misspoke” about her Bosnia travel)
and so many more…

Celebrities for Clinton
Barbra Streisand
Ted Danson
America Ferrera
Magic Johnson
Tom Hanks
Billy Crystal
Bette Midler
Chevy Chase
Elizabeth Taylor
Martha Stewart
Michael Douglas
Heidi Fleiss
Melissa Etheridge
Janet Jackson
and of course hubby Bill Clinton

McCain Supporters
Heidi Montag
Sylvester Stallone
Andy Williams
Clint Eastwood
Jon Voight

Hollywood Studios has unveiled plans of having a American Idol Themepark.

Visitors can go through the American Idol process of auditioning for a “Golden Ticket” and (if their singing passes scrutiny) will actually perform on stage. No, Simon will not be there to personally berate performers, but each day one person will be selected for a slot in American Idol’s regional auditions.

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.

So how are the bevy of movie releases doing at the theaters? Vantage Point takes, the well, vantage point, grossing at $22,874,936. This is followed by Spiderwick Chronicles (a far second at $13,100,192) and Jumper ($12,708,768). Step up 2 The Streets and Fools Gold take the fourth and fifth place.

First they brought comic book heroes like the Fantastic Four, Spiderman and X-men. Then it was Transformers.

Clearly, Hollywood was tapping into the childhood icons of the thirty-something movie goers, and the latest “epic” is Astro Boy, a computer animated feature from Imagi Studios.

But to hook in the young viewers, the studio brought in Highmore, who has appeared in Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden COmpass, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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.

The writer’s strike hit the Hollywood economy hard. Experts say that the 3-month shutdown had led to $2.5 billion in lost business. Aside from the wages, awards shows like the Golden Globes were cancelled (that event alone cost $60 million n cancelled ads and promos).