Here’s James Franco’s interview with MTV on the set of Finishing the Game.  I think it pretty much speaks for itself.  Partial transcript:

MTV Guy: Have you read the rest of the script? Are there things that you can’t wait to see?
Franco: …Uhh.. I don’t… read the stuff that’s not my character.

MTV Guy:  How was it to work with Justin Lin after he’s come off two big movies and now doing a little indie – is he entering his Soderbergh period?
Franco: (long sigh)…Yeah …Soderbergh period.

MTV Guy: So that means you get to do some more actiony type stuff?
Franco: (Sheepish grin, nod)

MTV Guy: How does a director call up and say –
Franco: (laughing) We can cut this, this is getting stupid.

Hey, remember those WGA PSAs about actors being speechless without writers?  They should just use this from now on.

UPDATE: Having since seen MTV Movies’ other interviews, I’m gonna have to reverse position and side with Franco on this one. They harsh my mellow too, man.

The WGA has released a series of videos like this one as part of their "Speechless" campaign in support of the striking writers. Full cast list here.

Hey, you know what’d be a great?  Famous actors staring at the camera not saying anything.  You know, cause, like, if the writers don’t write, than the actors don’t can’t say anything because they’re retarded.  Awesome idea!  Hey, in case people don’t get it at first, lets have a bunch of people in it.  Yeah!  And maybe after like 30 seconds they still won’t understand what it’s about, so we’ll drag it out for like three minutes!  Yeah!  And we’ll call it "Just What’s on the Page".  YEAH!

Poor actors are helpless to convey an idea without speaking.  Haven’t they ever been to a strip club? 

^{Semi-related and totally self-indulgent note: speaking as a non-union writer who’s not on strike, yours truly has a reading tonight at 8:30 at the Ding Dong Lounge on 106th and Columbus in Manhattan, so if you live in the NYC area, and are clamoring for more of my semi-coherent ramblings, feel free to attend.  Actors will still not be allowed to speak.}

It’s official: the Writer’s Guild of America is on strike for the first time since 1988, when a 22-week walkout cost the industry $500 million.  The most contentious issue was writers wanting a bigger cut of DVD revenue (though there were other issues – see comments for details).

Late night talk shows, Colbert, and The Daily Show were said to be going into re-runs, since WGA writers handle their monologues. (Though Orli and Michelle were kind enough to send me this embeddable widget with trailers, special clips, and a countdown to the release of the Best of the Colbert Report DVD – how ironic, a DVD plug in a post about a fight over DVD revenue).

The strike would not immediately affect production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year. [CNN]

Yeah, and anyway, when’s the last time they made a movie that wasn’t a remake or an adaptation of a comic book anyway?  The biggest hurdle for the writers will be proving their importance to a group of people who can barely read.  But of course, others are affected (supposedly):

If tourists see that the entertainment industry is shut down, we worry they will think the entire city is shut down,” said [Jack] Kyser [chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp]. He noted that restaurant business in the southeast San Fernando Valley — home to Universal Studios and the largest concentration of production — has already dropped 30 percent as anticipation of the strike grew in recent weeks. 

"On second thought kids, let’s not go to Disneyland, the WGA is on strike."  Yeah, right.

Some may find an upside in the disruption. Starbucks thinks it might benefit from more people looking for a place to hang out, said a corporate spokeswoman. And others will make a business of financing those out of work.

Oh for Christ’s sake.  Is there anything Starbucks doesn’t benefit from?  "Starbucks: Where the unemployed meet to discuss nothing of consequence".  Well folks, all we can do is wait and see.  Just pray to God the movie bloggers guild doesn’t strike.  We planned to discuss the issue at Starbucks, but they said they wouldn’t let us in unless we wore pants.