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Not even close to recovering from the disastrous writers' strike, now the actors' unions are heading for a possible shut down as well, as the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) haven't been able to come to any agreement yet.

Even so, AFTRA, the smaller of the two actors' unions, has concluded negotiations with the AMPTP, while thugs at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are attempting to pressure them to reject what they've already agreed upon; they obviously don't want to be perceived as the bad guys who could end up costing the industry billions of dollars in losses.

Tom Hanks has entered the fray by taking a full-page ad out in Variety and urging the unions to come to an agreement with the producers.

"We're frustrated and discouraged that the talks have stalled because SAG's Hollywood leadership is focused on its campaign to interfere with the affair of a fellow union," said AMPTP's spokesman, Jesse Hiestand, yesterday. "The producers remain committed to avoiding another harmful, unnecessary strike and to reaching another fair and forward-looking labour agreement."

Even if there isn't a strike, the impact is already affecting the industry, as numerous television and movie projects are being put on hold as the uncertainty of what lies ahead is already shutting parts of Hollywood down.

There's less than a week for the two sides to come to an agreement, or actors say they'll walk out. It would devastate an already reeling industry. Whether there's a strike or not now, it will cause major problems for the rest of the year. None of it makes any sense, and those - especially at the unions - are clueless as to what they're doing and why.