Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

With the current Writer's Guild of America contract due to expire one week from today and a strike by film and TV writers already authorized by vote, the clouds of dread are thickening. 

For instance, "Bionic Woman" actor Miguel Ferrer recalls, "the last time, which was in '88, countless people lost their homes and the industry lost half a billion dollars. The studios were happy at first to clean house. They could get rid of all the development deals they didn't want by declaring a force majeure. I suspect the same thing would happen this time."

For Miguel, who did six years on "Crossing Jordan" and was a regular on "Twin Peaks," an industry shutdown "would be really bad, personally, as it would be for a lot of people. I have a couple exes and a bunch of children and a huge amount of my paycheck goes to them. It creates absolutely sleepless nights," he admits. With the support he's required to dole out, in fact, "I don't think I'll ever be able to retire." 

These days, Ferrer is commuting between the L.A. home he shares with his wife of two years, Lori Weintraub, and "Bionic" production in Vancouver. He's definitely digging his role as Jonas Bledsoe, head of the bionics program responsible for turning Michelle Ryan's Jaime Sommers character into a techno wonder woman — and working with "Bionic" show creator David Eick, "who took an arguably cheesy franchise, 'Battlestar Galactica,' and made it into a highly respected drama," says Ferrer. "Any time you start a TV series, there are growing pains and adjustments as you find the tone of the series. This is more difficult because this kind of show incorporates action and science fiction elements — but first and foremost, it's a human drama. I feel like we're now finding our voice."

HOT AND FRESH: Emile Hirsch has quickly become one of Hollywood's rising stars, which he feels he owes to staying focused on his work and allowing his talents and not the tabloids to keep his career going. "The tabloids are weird. I have no interest in being in that," notes the 22-year-old, but he's certainly aware that many of his young counterparts don't feel the same way.

"I think that that's kind of a line that every person has to decide. As much as people like to complain about young Hollywood and the tabloids, though, they're the ones buying the s—-." 

In fact, Emile's capabilities as an actor have made such an impression that he was a shoo-in to portray the real-life Christopher McCandless in Sean Penn's adaptation of "Into the Wild," currently in theaters. Playing the man who abandoned all of his possessions and hitchhiked to Alaska was no easy task for the young actor. "I lost 41pounds for it. I had to get off the couch and start weight lifting, running and eating healthy." 

The experience, however, proved to be well worth the challenges, especially when getting the chance to be directed by someone like Penn. "He brings a lot of intensity to his directing. All of his life force and attention is dedicated to what he is doing," notes Emile. "Plus, he's very hands-on. There'd be days where if he wanted a hole dug, he'd pick up a shovel and start digging it." 

Now the two have people talking Oscar. Says Hirsch, "That's hopefully a by-product of work, but that's for other people to decide."

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE: Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright almost walked into a scene of the Dustin Hoffman-Emma Thompson "Last Chance Harvey" romantic comedy last week as it was shooting on location in the Departures Hall at London's Stansted Airport. Hoffman took the opportunity to chat with Albright, who was on her way to Washington, D.C., after a series of meetings, and then he invited her over to the production monitors to view a playback of the scene with director Joel Hopkins and producers Tim Perell and Nicola Usborne. 

FIRST AND TEN: William Shatner tells us that he considers the addition of John Larroquette to "Boston Legal" this season to be a big plus — both for the show and for himself personally. "He turned out to be the sweetest guy. He comes with so much talent and adds a great deal the show. And we've become good friends," informs Shatner. "He's come over to my house for Monday night football."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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