Sunday, January 13, 2008

Smallville Actors Join Strike, Co-Creator Discusses Show's Status

by Groshan Fabiola

Although the writers' guild strike has paralyzed and shut down many of this season's television programs, a lot of the actors from the affected shows have shown support for their writers' cause. Stars of The CW's Smallville have made appearances at the picket line to display their solidarity with those who pen scripts and churn out their episodes.

Kryptonsite reported that Smallville actors Michael Cassidy (Grant Gabriel), John Glover (Lionel Luthor) and Phil Morris (John Jones) joined the striking writers in front of the Universal Studios lot on the second week of their walkout.

"It was a great afternoon at Universal as over 2500 writers and actors joined the fight for our collective futures [professionally speaking]," show creator Al Gough told Kryptonsite. "We had John Glover, Michael Cassidy and Phil Morris out there supporting the cause. Others from the cast wanted to be there, particularly Michael Rosenbaum [who plays Lex Luthor], but the show is still in production and most of the cast lives in Vancouver . We know they were with us in spirit, as we are all in this together."

Gough also went on to shed light on why his fellow scribes have taken to this extreme measure.

"Screenwriting isn't like other professions," Gough explained. "There is no guarantee of employment week to week or year to year. It is a feast or famine business, and when the music stops, you may not still have a chair. Miles [Millar, his co-creator on Smallville] and I have been writing together for 15 years now. Each year I wonder if this is when it all comes crashing down."

Despite being forced to take a firm stand for their rights, Gough assured fans of the series that The CW will complete all remaining written scripts, while stressing that it is still their desire to return to what they all love doing.

"To the best of my knowledge, the studio plans to produce all of them," Gough said. "If there isn't a quick resolution, then the season ends in February. It is our wish that this strike will be resolved quickly so that we can get back to doing what we love - writing."

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