Amy's Robot

NYC Transit Strike: Celebrity Watch

There are plenty of sources out there for you to read about the transit strike, how New Yorkers are getting to work, and differing opinions on the validity of the strike--for example those who think workers have the right to inconvenience everyone in the city to demand fair compensation vs. Ed Koch on NPR this morning saying we should "crush the union".

So we're not going to go into all that. What we're interested in is how celebrities are affected by today's strike.

Helpfully, Reuters reports on the status of film and TV shoots scheduled for today, and how the stars are coping, particularly when shooting is planned in outer borough studios.

Jessica Alba and Hayden Christiansen are reportedly "very understanding" of some logistical difficulties in organizing their pickup vans for today's shoot at Kaufman Studios in Astoria for the upcoming film Awake. At least they don't have to stay at a Comfort Inn near the studio, where much of the crew will stay during the strike.

Also shooting today at Kaufman is "Conviction", a new series by Dick Wolf that will start on NBC in 2006, starring Stephanie March, the former ADA from "Law & Order: SVU", Eric Balfour, who was Milo on "24" and Eddie on "The O.C.", and that girl who was the con-artist prostitute on "Rescue Me".

A dippy-sounding new musical called Across the Universe by Julie Taymor of The Lion King fame is shooting in Brooklyn's Steiner Studios today. The young cast features Evan Rachel Wood, and others named Martin Luther and T.V. Carpio. The producer says, "It's a musical with a lot of dancers, so they'd meet at different van pickup points in Manhattan and maybe Queens, walking 10 or 20 blocks max. In a time of crisis, everyone has to bend." Wrap up warm, Martin Luther.

Of course, even if some productions have already wrapped, the cast may still be affected by the strike. Ira & Abby: A Divorce Comedy is the latest movie by Jennifer Westfeldt, the one from Kissing Jessica Stein, and stars her, Judith Light, Frances Conroy, and Fred Willard. Though the movie finished the shoot a few hours before the strike started, producers say tonight's wrap party in the Flatiron area may be compromised.

Fred Willard: you are one of my favorite people ever, and if you need a place to stay after the party tonight, I'm sure we can work something out.

categories: Movies, NYC, TV
posted by amy at 12:39 PM | #