Hollywood screenwriters have now been on strike for two weeks and the effects are starting to extend beyond the picket lines.

CBC News reports that two British Columbia-based shows are shutting down and others will have to follow suit soon as they run out of scripts.

“On our lot, we have Bionic Woman — that has stopped production — and we also have Battlestar Galactica, which will be shutting down Friday,” Pete Mitchell, executive vice-president of Vancouver Film Studios, told CBC News.

If the strike is prolonged, the result will be significant damage to a North American film and television industry that was already fighting to stay afloat.

“The only thing a strike like this will do — an extended one — is drive people away from conventional film and television,” Mitchell told CBC. “We’re already suffering, being challenged by competing with new media as it is, and this is certainly not going to help. … A lot of people who leave will not come back.”

At least 200 people are out of work as a result of the two shows shutting down as its not just the cast and crew who are jobless, but also those in related industries, from caterers to carpenters.






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