Barry Willis

A strike next year by the <A HREF="http://www.sag.org/">Screen Actors Guild</A> (SAG) is not likely, according to a recent statement by the organization's president, William Daniels. "I'm optimistic that we can work something out with the industry," Daniels told reporters after a meeting with industry heavyweight Lew Wasserman at Universal Studios on Wednesday, August 23. Wasserman, the former head of MCA, is now a consultant at Universal, and is known throughout the industry as a shrewd negotiator and dealmaker.

Where does free speech end and copyright violation begin? The film industry has won the first skirmish in what promises to be a long war over this issue. A US federal district judge in Manhattan has ruled against <A HREF="http://www.2600.com/">2600.com</A>, a website that posted software for breaking DVD copy-protection encryption. The site also contained links to other sites posting the software, known as DeCSS.

Locally broadcast high-definition television <I>won't</I> be coming to a home theater near you anytime soon. That's the consensus of participants and observers at congressional hearings on the subject in late July, when long-simmering disagreement over a technical standard for terrestrial transmission finally got its day in court.

Blockbuster has seen the future, and it ain't video rentals&mdash;at least not the kind you pick up in person. The video chain has signed an agreement with Enron Broadband Services to begin offering video-on-demand, one of a host of entertainment services to be developed as part of a 20-year pact. The announcement was made July 19.