Hey Brother, Can You Spare a Screenplay?

Last week, Paramount issued an urgent call for someone, anyone, to doctor its Wolverine script—fast. Across Hollywood, studios and writers alike are desperately rushing to finish scripts before the Writers' Guild’s Halloween strike deadline, the LA Times reports. “Everybody is living in the impending doom,” said one scribe, furiously scribbling a Da Vinci Code sequel.

The Guild strike rules forbid even minor edits during the strike, so studios don’t want to start filming without polished scripts. And while TV will take an immediate hit, “Next year, there's going to be a plethora of bad movies,” predicted one producer. Writers are as panicked as studios, working under what one producer called “inhuman amounts of pressure.” (More Writers Guild of America stories.)