The two most expensive movies to be shot here this winter, the second of the trilogy of Harry Potter films and the new James Bond caper - Bond 20 - could be the first pictures to be hit by the strike.The actors' union Equity is now in talks with Warner Brothers who are making the Harry Potter film.
Johnnie English, a secret agent skit starring Rowan Atkinson, is another likely victim of the wrangle, which centres on the residual payments made to actors on DVD and video sales and when their films are shown on TV.
Whereas American actors get a percentage, their British counterparts get only one flat payment. The producers' organisation, Pact, has conceded the principle of percentage payments, but Equity has urged actors not to sign film contracts for after December.
Adam Minns, of Screen International, said: "Many film projects collapse at the last minute, so we should not get too het up about it. It's true we have a run of them and that, combined with what is happening in America, has added to the jittery atmosphere."
