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…

Having recently seen Speed Racer I now feel the need to write about two of my favorite writers/ producers/ directors. The Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, has a pretty good list of films both as writers and producers. Although they only have relatively few films between them (15 as writers, 9 as producers, and 8 as directors) you’ll be surprised at the number of awards they have earned, although I’d say that if you saw any of their films you shouldn’t be surprised at all. In fact so far they’ve already been nominated 9 times for various awards and won 6 out of the 5 nominations.

Films and video games done by the Wachowski Brothers include:

Speed Racer (2008) - writers, producers, and directors
V for Vendetta (2005) - writers, producers
The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Online (2005 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - writers, executive producers, and directors
Enter the Matrix (2003 - video game) - writers, directors
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - writers, executive producers, and directors
The Animatrix (2003) - segment writers; producers
The Matrix (1999) - writers, producers, and directors
Bound (1996) - writers, executive producers, and directors
Assassins (1995) - writers

They are also producers of a film currently filming - Ninja Assassin.

The mark of the Wachowski brothers are one-of-a-kind surreal films that somehow feel familiar and believable. From machines taking over the world to race car drivers winning a fixed race the recurring theme is changing the world despite impossible odds. Hmmm. Sounds corny? Somehow the Wachowski brothers put it together to make it far from corny. Cool beans its another Wachowski film in the making!

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.

Michael Bay pokes fun at himself with a commercial for Fios that has him blowing up items the way only, well, Michael Bay can.

The famous director is known for his fast-paced, blow-up-$5-million-worth-of-cars-in-5-seconds action.

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.

Any serious Hollywood fan or student of film should watch this interview of pioneer internet author Don Wrege and Robert Carl Cohen. Cohen is the writer, producer, director, cameraman, and editor of MONDO HOLLYWOOD.

It’s official. The writer’s strike is over!

“The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry. We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best — writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences,” said union honchos in a joint statement.

Insiders say that there are signs that the Hollywood strike is over.

The Writers Guild of America has a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but will still vote on the new terms (which will take place over the next 48 hours).

The 25th annual William S. Paley Television Festival will be honoring writer-producer
Judd Apatow, the genius behind cult classics like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”

The event will also be inviting producer director Steve Binder to talk about Elvis Presley’s 1968
comeback special on NBC, and honoring the cast and producers of hit series like “Pushing Daisies,” “Gossip Girl,” “Chuck,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Mad Men.”