No funny business, just yet

The blockbusters of 2009 are sitting unwritten. That’s an economic factor I’ve never seen reported in all of this. The next installments of Spider-Man, Harry Potter, and every other movie franchise are unwritten and unproducible until the strike is over.

If I were a theater chain, I’d be worried. If I were Wal-Mart, I’d demand answers. If I were a shareholder, I’d demand blood. The AMPTP’s refusal to return to the bargaining table is costing more than jobs, and will keep hurting the studios well into 2009 unless they get back to negotiating.

From John August.