Remember last year when all the writers in Hollywood decided to strike to get a better contract for themselves and how fun it wasn’t for us viewers? Well this year it’s the actors who aren’t getting what they want in their contracts with major studios. The Screen Actors Guild met with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers last week and it didn’t end particularly well. SAG is now seeking a strike authorization from its members. From the AP:

The talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), brokered by federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez, ended shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday.

“We will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike-authorization referendum,” SAG said. “We will further inform our members about the core, critical issues unique to actors that remain in dispute.”

“Make no mistake about this: If SAG members authorize a strike, then a strike is all but guaranteed because SAG has shown no willingness to compromise on its unrealistic demands,” the organization told its members.

Ugh, it doesn’t sound like the two parties are trying to get along. So make preparations: update your Netflix queue and be prepared to savor the upcoming new episodes of your favorite television show, because they might be the only new fare you’ll see for a while.

There are two new trailers floating around the ‘nets that have everyone in a tizzy: Star Trek and Watchmen. The tizzy is understandable because both of these movies were supposed to be in theaters this December, and both have been pushed back to 2009, though for different reasons.

Watchmen is the film based on the very popular graphic novel by Alan Moore. In fact it is the most celebrated graphic novel of all time (according to the trailer) and so it’s legions of fans have been anticipating this film ever since they finished the novel. Add to that the fact that the movie rights have come under dispute and the actual release of the film is still up in the air, even though the studio claims it will definitely be March 6, 2009. But fans can soothe themselves by watching their favorite group of superheroes over and over again in this two minute clip:

If you were able to see Quantum of Solace in theaters last weekend, then you got to see the new Star Trek trailer on the big screen. It begins in Thelma and Louise-ville but ends up in Awesome-town. J.J. Abrams has his fair share of critics at this point in his career, and he has a pretty big legacy to live up to with this film. Star Trek was originally scheduled for a Christmas release, but was pushed back to May 2009 so that it could get a bigger audience. Everyone knows that space travel is more believable in warmer climes.

This week’s podcast (episode 30!) is about Quantum of Solace, because it’s the only movie coming out this week in wide release! We’re pretty excited about this movie - and you should come see it with us if you live in Austin! Click here for details!

For more of Ben and Katie’s opinions about Quantum of Solace and all the Bond films, listen to this weeks Slashfilms Filmcast After Dark, which we recorded LIVE this past Monday. It was super fun, and now we are BPFs (best podcast friends) with the Slashfilm guys.

Finally, a shout out to Jesse Keyes, who did the intro to this episode! Thanks, Jesse!

Download this episode

Last week, Netflix expanded it’s “instant watching” feature to include Mac users. (No more separate but equal status for the macs!) They now have some of their catalog available to stream online. By providing flix that you can watch on the ‘net, they have finally lived up to their name!

To celebrate this, we at HoorayMovies got straight to coding and have added a feature so that you, our users, can easily find movies you’ve already marked as those you want to see that are available to watch online right now.

If you’re already a Netflix subscriber, there is no additional cost to watch movies online. But you do have to download and install Microsoft’s DRM-a-licious Silverlight on which to play the movies.

Tonight at 11pm EST, Ben and I will be guests on /Film’s After Dark podcast. /Film is a super film blog, run by super film fans. We’ll be chatting with David Chen, Devindra Hardwar and Adam Quigley about the upcoming release of Quantum of Solace and all things Bond. You can download it from iTunes or listen to it live here.

The United States has had many fictional black presidents (in The Fifth Element, 24, Idiocracy, etc) but now that Barack Obama is President-elect, how will Hollywood indicate the future times within a TV show or movie? Of course a Madame President could now represent the future state of American politics but I think that’s a bit obvious - and it’s already been done. Commander in Chief, anyone? Aside from that, it seems inevitable now - barring some wacky Handmaid’s-Tale-type future.

The new Future President will have to be something even more progressive. Proposition 8, which passed in California earlier this week, suggests that in the present-day Americans are resistant to the concept of gay marriage, which means that a gay person as President could only happen in future times. So it looks like we have an answer. It’s up to Hollywood now to start getting citizens used to the idea of an openly gay Commander-in-chief.

What do you think the Future President will be?

Because it’s opening this Friday, David Wain’s new flick, Role Models has leaked a promotional clip onto the internet. In this bit Sean William Scott teaches a young Bobb’e J Thompson about boobs and how to properly scope them out.

http://view.break.com/597157 - Watch more free videos

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Bobb’e J’s work on Human Giant and I look forward to seeing him in Role Models this weekend. You just know he’s destined for greatness. But isn’t it strange how they had Christopher Mintz Plasse (aka McLovin) introduce the video though he is not in it? It’s like everyone already knows that he’s the lesser of the two kids and might spend the rest of his career being asked about having worked with Bobb’e J.

Chin up, CMP! A talent like Bobb’e J only comes along once in a blue moon. Observe: