Studios are going into panic mode amid fears that a strike that could paralyse film productions may start as early as next month - and not next summer as was widely expected.

Talks between Tinseltown producers and the Writers Guild of America, the body that represents screenwriters, have grown increasingly bitter in recent weeks. The guild also recently sought an authorisation to strike, leading studio executives to believe that work stoppage from November 1, the day after the current agreement expires, is a real possibility.

Some of the films likely to be affected are the next James Bond film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the historial epic Pompeii. The WGA had been expected to join forces with the DGA and the SAG in the summer, rather than on November 1, when its current contract with studios expires. The possible strike is over royalties from sales of movies over the internet and on DVD, which are not covered in the current deal between the various guilds.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2186839,00.html