NEWS FLASH: Writer's Strike Causes Channing Tatum's 'Pinkville' to be Postponed

United Artists, the production company funding Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, and Woody Harrelson's Oliver Stone directed movie 'Pinkville' , announced via a press release last night that the film was being postponed due to the current Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Making the movie the second major film casualty of the ongoing writers strike after Sony's 'Angels & Demons', the sequel to Tom Hanks movie 'Da Vinci Code'.

In case you don't know anything about the writer's strike that is currently affecting most of the US entertainment industry, here's a quick explanation of what's going on...

The writers are striking to resolve two major issues. They want to increase the amount of compensation they get from each DVD sale that includes their work and they are trying to negotiate what kind of payment (if any) they should get from the newer distribution channels like the internet, podcasting and mobile-phones.

How does the writer's strike affect you? The late-night talk shows are already in reruns and popular shows like “The Office”, "24", “Desperate Housewives”, “Ugly Betty”, "Heroes", “House” and “Grey's Anatomy” have closed shop or are about to close up shop, because they have no more scripts to film.

People like me who are addicted to these shows will have to get used to seeing reruns and we'll start seeing more unscripted reality and game shows to fill the void. More importantly, people who work on the shows are getting laid off in many cases when the shows shut down for too long.

You can read the press release below to see how the writer's strike is now affecting Channing's upcoming film 'Pinkville' ...

UA Postpones Production of Stone's 'Pinkville'
Friday November 16, 11:00 pm ET

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- United Artists announced today that as a result of the writers' strike, it is postponing production of the Oliver Stone project "Pinkville" starring Bruce Willis. The studio said that because of the ongoing labor action by the Writers Guild of America, neither Stone nor screenwriter Mikko Alanne, both of whom are members of the WGA, can work on the script revisions needed to get the film ready for production. Mr. Stone, Mr. Allane, and Mr. Willis are all completely supportive of this decision.

Because I find the entertainment industry interesting as a whole, I've been following the writer's strike since it started a couple of weeks ago. None of our favorite scripted shows and movies would ever exist without the writers, so I personally hope that the strike is resolved soon and that the writers receive fair compensation for their work.

Far beyond the loss of our favorite shows and the delay in seeing our favorite movie stars on the big screen, is the plight of the production crew members (i.e. hair and make up artists, wardrobe people, camera technicians, caterers, etc.) that have become the direct casualties of the work stoppage caused by the shows and films that are shutting down.

My heart goes out to the hundreds of unnamed, behind-the-scenes production people (who don't get paid nearly as much as the writers) that are being laid off. Sadly, they will also have difficulty finding other work, because much of the industry around them is shut down. For many of them, getting this strike resolved means the difference between being able to take care of their families and losing everything they have. So again, resolving the strike quickly is of utmost importance. Rumor has it that the writers and the studios are heading back to the bargaining table on November 26, so hope may not be lost yet.

OK I'll get off my soap box now...

So what might this mean for Channing Tatum? Hopefully it means he gets to spend some quality time with friends and family during the upcoming holiday season, since he is wrapping up his current film 'Fighting' in New York and now does not have to head directly to Thailand to film 'Pinkville'. The one thing we know for sure is that Chan has plenty of upcoming projects to occupy his time, and I hope there are no scheduling conflicts for him and 'Pinkville' when the writer's strike is eventually resolved.

Honestly, Chan could probably use a healthy break at this point, because 2008 is shaping up to be the busiest year of his entire career. We can all look forward to as many as 4 movie releases and what seems like an endless list of movies he is supposed to film.

Luckily for us fans the writers strike should not effect Chan's movies that are already in the can, as they say, for 2008. So be on the lookout for his cameo in 'Step Up 2: The Streets' (February 14, 2008), his major roles in 'Battle in Seattle' (March 2008) and 'Stop-Loss' (March 28, 2008), and 'Fighting' is scheduled to also release some time in 2008. Strike or not, it's business as usual for the extremely busy Mr.Tatum.

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