Happy Halloween

The witching hour is upon us. Several versions of Sleepy Hollow are on T.V and the Simpson's Tree House of Hours is almost on.Yea. I didn't dress up for some reason i had no motivation to spend money and dress up. Although I have enjoyed some of the costumes I have been seeing people wearing around town today. Everything from SEXY to the down right STUPID. Well be safe and enjoy the night
Italian

Splinter

The Variety had a review of this years Screamfest Horror Film Fest Winner 1st place award winner. Sounds pretty good

With: Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Shea Whigham, Rachel Kerbs.

F/x whiz Toby Wilkins' "Splinter" is a spare, effective and genuinely frightening retro-nightmare that will have teenage gore girls trooping to the movies like lurching swarms of George Romero's living dead. The socio-sexual-psychological attraction of "Splinter" -- which just won a rash of awards at Screamfest in Los Angeles -- will constitute as much of the film's draw as Quantum Creation's human sea urchins or the generous portions of blood served up by Wilkins and his makeup peeps. It's a chick flick with hemoglobin -- and a Halloween opening wasn't a bad idea, either.

Clearly out to evoke '70s horror, "Splinter" kicks off with a twist on the twisted familiar: Seth (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly (Jill Wagner) are going camping -- bad idea -- but they can't get the tent up. But hold on: It's when they get back into the presumed safety of their SUV (there's a subliminal green message in there somewhere) that they're abducted by the malignant Dennis (Shea Whigham) and his crystal meth-addled girlfriend, Lacey (Rachel Kerbs). What initially seems to be shaping up as a hostage drama a la "The Desperate Hours," however, becomes something very different indeed.

Dennis is a wonderfully hateful thug, who immediately zeroes in on the intellectual Seth and makes him look weak in front of Polly, who's been driving their SUV. (Seth can't drive stick! A sure sign of weenie-hood.) But then Polly runs over some animal that looks like a road pie with spines, and Lacey starts talking to it, thinking it's her long lost dog Ginger (you knows she's a goner).

But the Thing, this spiny, splintery mass, trails our scream quartet and backs them into a convenience store. There, the proprietor has already been reduced to a bloody, needle-y mass, and the three (yes, we're down to three) fight for their lives, with all the duct tape, wire hangers and fireworks they need to keep the porcupine-ish menace at bay.

The mechanics of "Splinter" are remarkably sound -- the script moves from place to place with a minimal amount of implausibility, once you get beyond the raging-mold-spore theory by which Seth (conveniently, a Ph.D candidate in biology) figures out what's out there. The convenience store is a character all its own.

But it's Polly who's the engine of all this: She can't help but respond, however subtly, to Dennis' man of action while disdaining Seth in his more brainiac moments. Seth acquits himself admirably enough, but Wagner (yes, boys, the spokesmodel in all those Lincoln-Mercury ads), does a wonderful job of internalizing Polly's wavering allegiance to strong Seth vs. cerebral Seth, mirroring the kinds of psychosexual debates raging among the likely aud for this taut little bloodbath.

The effects, used rather smartly and sparingly, are great: The disembodied hand that chases the characters around their ersatz 7-Eleven is vaguely comical, but only because it's so terrifying. There's not a lot of explanation about where the splinters come from, aside from Seth's scientific theory about heat and cold and a monster that operates on a purely cellular basis. In an era of environmental awareness, Wilkins seems to be after a deeper, nuanced message than pure horror, punctuated by his "Kiss Me Deadly"-style ending.
More than one option

* (Person) Todd Wagner
Executive Producer
* (Person) Todd Wagner
Associate Producer, Executive Producer, Line Producer
* (Person) Todd Wagner
Actor
2007 - Edward James Olmos, Michael D. Olmos

Camera (Deluxe color), Nelson Cragg; editor, David Michael Maurer; music, Elia Cmiral; production designer, Jennifer Spence; art director, Thomas Spence; sound (Dolby Digital), David Stevens; supervising sound editors, Ben Wilkins, Jon Johnson; re-recording mixers, Ben Wilkins, Stanley Kastner; creature design/special makeup effects, Quantum Creation FX; special makeup/creature effects producer, Christian Beckman; special makeup/creature effects supervisor, Justin Raleigh; special makeup effects department head, Ozzy Alvarez; key special makeup effects artist, Danielle Noe; stunt coordinator, Jackson Burns; visual effects supervisors, Toby Wilkins, David Sosalla, George Cawoon; assistant directors, Graeme Finlayson, Buntho Lafragiola; casting, Lauren Bass, Chris Freihofer. Reviewed at Aidikoff screening room, Beverly Hills, Oct. 23, 2008. (In Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Los Angeles.) MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 82 MIN.

By JOHN ANDERSON
www.variety.com

Book Review: Save the Cat

I've finally started to read "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder. I was on his website blakesnyder.com today and he has a formula for writing loglines, handy if you are trying to write a query letter:

On the verge of a Stasis=Death moment, a flawed protagonist has a Catalyst and Breaks Into Two with the B Story; but when the Midpoint happens, he/she must learn the Theme Stated, before the All Is Lost, to defeat (or stop) the flawed antagonist (from getting away with his/her plan).

Example:

On the verge of another “suit and tie” assignment, a tomboy FBI agent is assigned to go undercover in the American Miss Pageant and has a complete makeover to blend in with the other contestants; but when the pageant receives a new threat, she must learn she can be a woman and tough, before she gets thrown off the case, to defeat the warped pageant organizer bent on revenge. (Miss Congeniality)

With Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Kevin Smith learns his low-brow brand of humor is no longer considered taboo.

Here is a good read from the Filmmakers.com interview with Kevin Smith


Always straddling the line between indie and mainstream films, Kevin Smith has grown a dedicated fan base for his original comedies since coming on the scene with the no-budget, black-and-white Clerks in 1994. But with his latest film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith finds himself entering a theatrical world in which his disarmingly sweet mixture of toilet humor, romance and pop-culture reflection is not so unusual. With Judd Apatow working similar gross-out, meet-cute strategies in comedy smashes like Knocked Up, Smith finds himself an elder statesman when it comes to humorous cinematic raunch.

In his latest film Smith has put away Jay and Silent Bob and left his Jersey roots for snowy Pittsburgh. But the most notable change is who is delivering the lines: Apatow regular Seth Rogen. One of the few actors not in the View Askewniverse who can handle Smith‘s profanity-laced fanboy dialogue, Rogen, with his everyman look, easily slips into Smith‘s usual slacker protagonist role while his writing credits in films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up give him the cred to claim a spot in Smith‘s cheerfully vulgar world.

In the film Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play best friends/roommates Zack and Miri who after having their utilities shut off, decide to make a quick buck by shooting a porno. After finding a cast (including Smith regular Jason Mewes and porn stars Katie Morgan and Traci Lords) and financier (The Office‘s Craig Robinson), all that‘s left is a porn title — Star Whores. In a hilarious montage, the team creates revealing costumes and crude sets that would make George Lucas either chuckle or gag. But when their set is unexpectedly leveled by a demolition crew, Zack and Miri are left to think up another porno idea (and title) and, in the process, realize that when friends have sex it does change everything.

Smith says the title helps turn away the curious folk who may not know what they‘re getting into. But for the most part it‘s a MacGuffin. At its center, like all of Smith‘s films, Zack and Miri is a movie about relationships.

Filmmaker talked to Smith before he premiered the film at the Toronto International Film Festival about courting Rogen, his latest tussle with the MPAA and his first foray into horror. The film opens Oct. 31 through The Weinstein Company and MGM.

I really dug the film.

Thank you. I was thinking the other day, “Man, am I ever going to be in Filmmaker again?”

I just reread the cover story we did on you for Chasing Amy before this conversation Yeah. It‘s been a while.

Where did the idea of doing this film come from?

I was meeting with Harvey Weinstein — I think we were doing Clerks II at that point — and he asked me what I wanted to do next. I said, “I‘m thinking of writing this movie called Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and he goes, “Done. Greenlit. Finished.” And I was like, “What do you mean? Don‘t you want to hear what the movie is about?” And he‘s like, “C‘mon Kevin, doesn‘t the title say it all?” And I was like, “Well, I guess you‘re right on some level.” Then ironically when we were in production Bob [Weinstein said], “I think we have to change that title, it just gives everything away. You know what they‘re doing before you see the movie!” I was like, “Bob, the title was announced six months ago and it was really favorably received online. I think it would be silly to change it at this stage in the game.” And he said, “Well, just keep an open mind, listen to this: ‘Zack and Miri Make a Movie.‘ ” And I was like, “Make a movie? Okay, Bob, that would not make me want me to see it.” A week later USA Today wrote an article in which they quoted the dude from Exhibitor Relations saying this is one of the best titles of the year and suddenly that argument went away.

And your interest in Seth Rogen came from watching the scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin where he and Paul Rudd are playing video games?

Yeah, and not so much the, “You know how I know you‘re gay?” which is adorable, but the “Fuck you!” at the end, which I thought was brilliant. I‘m watching it on DVD, sitting at my computer answering e-mails, and when Seth‘s character tells the story about seeing a chick make it with a horse my ears perk up because we just did a donkey show [in Clerks II]. Mercifully it has nothing to do with what we did but at the same time his delivery is so perfect. I was like, “I love this dude — he sounds like one of my characters. I want to work with this guy!” I thought since he plays a supporting role in that movie, I can write him a lead and then this dude will pop huge and he‘ll owe me forever. I‘ll have Affleck version 2.0! But by the time I got to writing it, I was frightened as fuck because I started seeing him on billboards for Knocked Up. I thought my plan was ruined. At that point I learned that he‘s not just an actor, he‘s a writer, so he doesn‘t need anyone to generate material for him. I thought I missed my window, but thankfully he liked the script a lot.

I feel the one person who was put on this Earth to deliver your dialogue is Jason Lee, but Rogen is a close second.

Absolutely. And if I made this film 10 years ago it would have been Jason Lee in a heartbeat.

But let‘s talk about when you can‘t get the actor you want. You wrote the Miri part originally for Rosario Dawson.

Yeah, I had such a good time working on Clerks II with her. I thought she was fantastic. The whole time I‘m working on the Zack and Miri script I‘m telling her and she‘s like, “Right on.” Then I gave her the script and her one question is, “Isn‘t it close to Becky in as much like I fall in love with a loser again?” And I was like, “This is comedy in the 21st century! It‘s all about women and losers. That‘s all I‘ve ever done.” We never went to her with an official offer but it was understood that I was writing it for her. Then I found out online that she committed to do Eagle Eye, which I get — it‘s Shia LeBeouf and D.J. Caruso and Spielberg is producing, but, man, to find out that way, reading online? Suddenly we were in open territory. We narrowed it down to six names and, alphabetically, Elizabeth Banks was at the top of the list. Now I liked all the other names, but I liked Banks because she‘s always been really good in everything I‘ve seen, particularly Invincible. Seth immediately went to Banks. She was in 40-Year-Old Virgin and had gotten pretty far in the Knocked Up auditions — she had just missed it. So I met her and she came on.

What‘s it like working with someone like Rogen who can both write and improvise?

He‘s the goods and a smart motherfucker. Everyone‘s like, “Oh, he loves to improv,” but I don‘t think of it like that. I think of it more as adlibbing than improvising. Improv to me is like, “Let‘s go and make up everything.” Seth is innately gifted at finding a way to inject a line that doesn‘t derail a scene. They are what the character would say and they move the plot forward. I have never met anybody as good at that as Seth. That being said, the dude would do the script and then do the adlibs.

How did you end up setting the film in Pittsburgh?

The first draft was set in Minnesota in Saint Cloud because I wanted to go to the one place in the world that nobody would think about making porn. If the San Fernando Valley is the cradle of porn, I wanted to be in a place that‘s the opposite of that on every front. And then, I think [producer Scott] Mosier suggested Pittsburgh, where we shot Dogma. We got a huge tax-incentive break by shooting there, and I thought Pittsburgh made even more sense than Saint Cloud because Minnesota at least has the Twin Cities, and it seems a more cultured area than Pittsburgh, which is largely considered a steel town.

You have both a porn star and a porn legend in the film. How did that happen?

Seth was delighted that he didn‘t have as many hats to wear [on this film] as he normally does, but he‘s an idea man and it‘s tough to turn that off. So right away he was like, “I think for the roles of Stacy and Bubbles we should get real porn actresses.” His point was you get an adult film actress and when it comes time to disrobe you‘re hitting them up with something that is a thousand times easier than what they would normally do on a set. You can‘t ask a porn actress to do anything that‘s more outrageous than what she does in her day job. So I was looking on YouTube and I saw this clip from an actress I‘d never heard of named Katie Morgan. It wasn‘t a porn clip, it was a performance clip — the acting part of a porn. I thought, “This chick can act.” She‘s funny. So we brought her in and she was great. Traci Lords came way later in the game. We never wanted to go to Traci Lords because we thought she‘s done with porn, and even casting her in a movie that has porno in the title will never happen. She dug the script, though, and said, “It is kind of tough for me to do based on who I am and where I came from, but that shit happened 20 years ago. Maybe it‘s time to embrace it and say, ‘Yeah I did porn.‘” So we got lucky there.

You were successful to get the film down from NC-17 to an R-rating.

I read that this latest appeal is your third win. What‘s the secret?

The first one I can‘t really take huge amounts of credit for because there was no way that wasn‘t going to get overturned. This was for Clerks and it was all language-based. It was just people sitting around talking. Jersey Girl they initially gave us an R for a sequence in which Ben [Affleck] and Liv [Tyler] are in the diner talking about masturbation. I think [head of Classification and Rating Administration] Joan Graves was like, “If I had a 16-year-old daughter I don‘t think I would want her sitting there listening to this con-versation.” My point was that if you‘ve got a 16-year-old daughter she knows exactly what sex is, and she‘s not going to learn anything new about masturbation from this movie. So with that one I actually had to get up and plead my case. But with Zack and Miri I really felt like I was fucking Clarence Darrow standing up there! This is the first time where I felt like we could actually lose because they had visuals to point to. But luckily I was able cite precedents. Yes, there is a lot of thrusting in the sex scenes in [Zack and Miri], so I cited Taking Lives with Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke and pointed out there‘s a sex scene between those two actors that is about as steamy as anything I‘ve ever seen in a mainstream movie. That scene is designed to titillate, it‘s erotic in nature, but our scene is comedic — it‘s a fucking caricature of sex. It‘s a caricature of a caricature because we‘re not even showing real sex. Porno sex is ridiculous and funny to begin with because nobody, I don‘t care who you are, nobody does 26 positions in 10 minutes. It just doesn‘t happen. So that seemed to work, and they overturned it 10 to 4.

The business has changed a lot since you burst on the scene with Clerks in 1994.
If you were starting out today, how do you think you‘d try to break in?

If I was starting right now I would be like, “Hey, Apatow does it.” [laughs] I would use that dude left and right. People ask me, “Man, don‘t you hate Apatow?” And I say, “I love Judd Apatow. a) He makes good movies, and b) the dude has proven that material like ours has an audience.” I have never gone above $30 million [box office gross] on any film and my stuff is kind of the same formula as his in that it is very dirty and it‘s very sweet at the same time. He has been able to punch through and prove that there‘s more of an audience out there for a movie like this than the audience that I‘ve had thus far.

Let‘s talk about your next film, Red State, which sounds like a real departure for you.

Red State is as much a 180-degree turn as you can get from Zack and Miri. It‘s not comedic at all. It‘s a straightforward horror/thriller but it‘s not a standard slasher movie — it‘s political horror. For the first time in almost 15 years the Weinsteins said no and it‘s not even an expensive movie. It‘s like a $5 million movie and they were like, “We don‘t know how to market this, we don‘t know how to sell this, and it‘s more trouble than it‘s worth.” I couldn‘t be mad, they‘ve said yes to everything else. So I can go out now and independently make it. It will be the first time we‘ve made an indie film since Clerks. But finding people to back it has been tough because it‘s rather touchy subject matter.

What‘s it about? It‘s about fundamentalism that goes to a heinous degree.

After Sept. 11 we were looking for the enemy outside and this is about looking for the enemy within. Before we discovered international terrorism on our home soil we‘ve been multiple victims of domestic terrorism. It will be very traumatic and very horrific. It‘s either going to work like gangbusters or people are going to be like, “Go back to comedy, you idiot!” It‘s going to be a real changeup. It‘s very Spartan when it comes to dialogue and it‘s not about relationships. But I gotta tell you, when people say they don‘t want to put in the money, it‘s a little off-putting but it fuels me a little more. Nothing worthwhile is easy and this is the farthest from easy, so Jesus, it must be worthwhile.

BY JASON GUERRASIO

Day After

I had a Birthday. My 32nd one to be precise. Or was it 33 I cant quite seem to remember.

Yet another year has past and I'm yet another year older. They just keep coming don't they. Relentless and without compassion.

I was waiting for Three little Doves to perch on my window and wake me up with song but there were no birds no fireworks at night nothing really. Just another night.

Book Review: Creating Ficton

In Creating Fiction edited by Julie Checkoway you will learn hundreds of exercises on the craft from some of the most notable writers of today. magine having 23 professional writing coaches at your disposal - each instructor teaching the fundamentals of writing they've perfected over the years. "Creating Fiction" is the best of nationwide creative writing programs taught by respected novelists and short story writers.

Established authors offer their expertise in these informative essays. Every entry ends with related exercises pertaining to the writing elements you've just learned. In fact, you'll find over 100 writing exercises taught in expensive workshops.

These writing essays tackle the challenging aspects of your writing venture. This in-depth guide to writing covers:

* Thinking About Fiction

* Characterization

* Point of View

* Plot, Structure and Narrative

* Style and Voice

* Revising, Editing and Marketing

Every category provides a variety of essays, offering several unique perspectives to help you perfect your craft.

Book Review: Alone in a Room

Alone in a Room : Secrets of Successful Screenwriters
by John Scott Lewinski (Ingram Pub Services; Aug 1 2004) is not a how-to-write-a-script book written by , rather it is a field guide to navigating the system of being a working writer in the business, from coming up with marketable ideas, to writing alone in a room on spec before the terrifying specter of the blank page, to accepting writing assignments and collaborating with others, to overcoming the challenges of adapting someone else's work for the screen or blog. The art of comedic writing, dealing with those dreaded "notes" and how to best utilize constructive criticism, dramatic writing for TV, being professional in meetings and making a good impression, getting your work out there to the people who can say yes or no, and how to deal with rejection as well as acceptance and, hopefully, success. As "they" say sometimes success is more frightening than failure.

Reading this book, as an aspiring screenwriter myself, I felt as though the author cared not just about my fate, but about the fate of all writers, and that personal respect and shared understanding makes this book inspiring and motivating. Alone In A Room is honest to be sure, but in a way that will make your path as a screenwriter all the more easy to walk, having now been awakened to many of the obstacles you may encounter.

Review: The Midnight Meat Train

There was a time when the only books on my shelf were either written by Stephen King or Clive Barker. The King books were an inevitability, seeing how every young horror fan at birth already owns at least a one of his novels, but the Barker books were a later discovery (in jail on the book mobile)that helped guide my imagination down a much darker path, where even the likes of King never dared to tread.

I got my hands on the BOOKS OF BLOOD in my late teens and was enthralled by the atrocities contained within.The story that stood out was THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, a tale of urban decay and the horrors encountered in the labyrinthine tunnels of the New York City underground subway system.

After seeing this film I’ve only got one question to ask, "If any recent horror movie deserved a full theatrical release, it’s The Midnight Meat Train." it was truly outstanding and should be the hit that Clive Barker needed.

The protagonist Leon a young vegan who is a struggling photographer who aims to capture the down and dirty areas of the inner city life, what he believes to be "the real city". However, upon taking numerous photos of the homeless, he unknowingly captures the image of a famous Japaneses woman who subsequently disappears. This coupled with photos of a strange man who travels the last subway train every night spur Leon to investigate the disappearance of this woman further.

In his English directorial debut Ryuhei Kitamura does a outstanding job. Bradley Cooper plays Leon as he slowly slips into madness just to get that perfect shot.

AFI TOP 10 MOVIE QUOTES

I have been studding the art of dialogue latly and it got me thinking of the top movie quotes of all time. There are way to many to name so A.F.I. has created a list of the top 100 movie quotes. I have copied the top 10 and added a few that were on the list and a few that didn't make the list. Enjoy

1 Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn - Gone With the Wind 1939

2 I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse - The Godfather 1972

3 You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am - On the Waterfront 1954

4 Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore - The Wizard of Oz 1939

5 Here's looking at you, kid - Casablanca 1942

6 Go ahead, make my day - Sudden Impact 1983

7 All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up - Sunset Boulevard 1950

8 May the Force be with you - Star Wars 1977

9 Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night - All About Eve 1950

10 You talkin' to me? - Taxi Driver 1976

AND A FEW OTHERS TO NOTE

I love the smell of napalm in the morning - Apocalypse Now 1979

E.T. phone home - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore - Network 1976

Bond. James Bond - Dr. No 1962

Show me the money - Jerry Maguire 1996

I'll have what she's having - When Harry Met Sally 1989

I'll be back - The Terminator 1984

If you build it, he will come - Field of Dreams 1989

Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get - Forrest Gump 1994

Houston, we have a problem - Apollo 13 1995

You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk? - Dirty Harry 1971

You had me at 'hello - Jerry Maguire 1996

There's no crying in baseball - A League of Their Own 1992

A boy's best friend is his mother - Psycho 1960

Say hello to my little friend - Scarface 1983

Hasta la vista, baby - Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991

Soylent Green is people - Soylent Green 1973

Striker: "Surely you can't be serious!" Rumack: "I am serious... and don't call me Shirley - Airplane! 1980

Yo, Adrian - Rocky 1976

Toga! Toga - National Lampoon's Animal House 1978

Nobody puts Baby in a corner - Dirty Dancing 1987

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too - The Wizard of Oz 1939

Five years for weed - Halfbaked - 1998

All-righty then! - Ace Ventura Pet Detective 1994

Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue - AIRPLANE! 1980

Excellent - BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE 1989

....The list could go on and on but I wont let it...

Actors union moves closer to strike vote

SAG NATIONAL TV/THEATRICAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE PASSES ADVISORY MOTION TO NATIONAL BOARD\

Los Angeles, CA (October 1, 2008) – The National TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee of Screen Actors Guild today passed the following advisory motion to the National Board:

“Whereas, Screen Actors Guild has been and remains willing and able to continue formal and continuous negotiations with the AMPTP and the employers, with the intention of reaching a mutually-acceptable deal; and

Whereas, the National Board has unanimously identified the core principles of new media jurisdiction and new media residuals as essential elements of any agreement in the Television/Theatrical contract negotiations; and

Whereas, preservation of longstanding force majeure protections for actors is of self-evident importance; and

Whereas, the President and Chief Negotiator have communicated this view to the AMPTP and the employers, and have requested that they return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair deal; and

Whereas, the AMPTP and the employers have refused to change their position and have continued to refuse to meet to attempt to advance the negotiations; and

Whereas, in the opinion of the National Negotiating Committee, the AMPTP and the employers will only seriously engage in further negotiations after the members of the Guild express their confidence in their leadership by authorizing them to take all actions necessary to protect the interests of the membership, including a strike; and

Whereas, although the National Board has already unanimously delegated the authority to take a strike authorization vote to the National Negotiating Committee, in the opinion of the Committee, the strong and public support of the National Board for the necessity of a strike authorization at this time is a necessary prerequisite for its success;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Negotiating Committee that:

A strike authorization vote of the membership is necessary to overcome the employers’ intransigence, and the Committee therefore recommends that the National Board authorize such a vote be taken; and further recommends:
That the National Board adopt a resolution strongly supporting such an action, and recommending that the membership vote in favor of a strike authorization; and

That the National Board endorse an educational campaign advocating a “yes” membership vote, to give the authority to the National Board to call a strike only if the National Board deems it necessary and unavoidable to do so. “

Adopted: October 1, 2008

------------------------------------------


The SAG's national board, a 71-member body, is scheduled to meet Oct. 18. A simple majority is needed to approve the call for a strike vote.

The guild on Monday called for talks to resume, sending the request in a letter addressed to the alliance, The Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger and News Corp. (NWS)'s Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin.

The producers' chief negotiator, J. Nicholas Counter III, said he declined to resume talks because SAG continues to insist on terms the companies have rejected.

The guild wants union coverage of all shows made for the Internet, regardless of budget, and residual payments for actors on made-for-Internet shows that are reused on the Internet. It also demands protections for actors during work stoppages.

The alliance has stuck by a final offer it made June 30, which it said mirrored deals accepted by directors, a smaller actors union called the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and writers following their strike.

The producers have said the proposal is worth $250 million in additional compensation over three years, a figure SAG disputes.

As of Aug. 15, the alliance withdrew an offer to backdate the increases to July 1, and, according to its Web site, actors had lost some $21 million in increases by Wednesday night by not approving the deal.

Last month, 87 percent of the 10,300 actors who responded to a guild survey backed its leaders' drive for a better deal. The producers alliance called the survey materials "hopelessly one-sided."