November has been a long string of weekends finishing ahead of last year’s numbers.In movies, that is.The Thanksgiving long weekend was no exception, with audiences flocking to see a range of new releases, from the treacly (Four Christmases, $32 mil ) to the teen-y (Twilight, $27 mil) to the family-friendly (Bolt, $26 mil) to the action-packed (Quantum of Solace, $20 mil) to the Oscar-contending (Australia, $16 mil). A little something for everyone, so to speak.The real news of the moment, though (as much as I would love to dwell on happy-go-lucky box offices numbers), is the impending actors’ strike.Sharon Waxman broke the story this weekend about a meeting, “like a scene from one of the Godfather movies” of the biggest names in acting in the last thirty years – a meeting that happened (if it happened) before AFTRA cut its deal. Continuing to negotiate without AFTRA was at least a step toward a strike.Meanwhile, 17 thousand people have signed a “No SAG Strike” online petition, including Bill Murray, Cybil Shepherd, Jessica Biel, and Jason Patric.SAG leadership is expected to ask for strike authorization in the coming weeks, despite intense pressure from the economy (officially in recession) and industry insiders and dependents still smarting from last Christmas’ WGA strike.
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