The writers' strike has caused incalculable damage to genre television, including helping to kill great shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. But it's also inflicted maximum damage on this summer's movies. We detailed all the ways the strike impacted movies like Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe a while back — it's probably no coincidence that the one movie whose script was in perfect shape before the strike hit, Star Trek, was also the only really watchable genre film in months.

(I think part of the reason I'm so over-the-moon about Trek is because I'm grading on a curve. Put it next to Iron Man and The Dark Knight, and it might not score quite so well. I was also thinking the other day that if The Incredible Hulk had come out in 2009, we might have appreciated it a bit more.)

So how about the movies coming this fall and winter, and even into next year? Did the strike hurt them as well? I did some digging, and here's what I found out about the crop of upcoming Hollywood movies:

District 9. (August 14) Not really a Hollywood movie, this Peter Jackson-produced alien imprisonment saga was filmed in South Africa and produced by QED Films. And reading between the lines of this Variety story from November 2007, it sounds as though director Neill Blomkamp and his partner Terri Tatchell had already written the script before the film was greenlit.

Pandorum. (September 4) This Dennis Quaid-Ben Foster space-horror film was greenlit in May 2008, a few months after the strike ended, and written by newcomer Travis Milloy. Which means it was a spec script, and unless it required major rewrites, it should be fine. The film only started shooting in August 2008, which means there should have been time to make rewrites, if any were needed.

Gamer. (September 4) This Gerard Butler-starring epic about prisoners who are forced to become video-game avatars for rich kids was actually filmed during the writer's strike, so its script was long since done. It's been on ice for quite some time — rumor has it test screenings in October 2008 produced almost entirely negative responses. The movie's gone through several titles, including Game and Citizen Game. So it may not be great... but that won't be the writers' strike's fault.

Splice. (September 18, limited release). Vincenzo Natali's genetic manipulation film stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as researchers who mess with the human genome... and get burned. And there was a script in November 2007, when the writer's strike started. Or at least, producer Guillermo del Toro was able to say in a statement:

Vincenzo is taking Splice to really edgy places. The moment I cringed while reading the script, I knew I wanted to help him realize his vision.

And a still from the movie came out in February 2008, while the strike was still going on. (The movie's complex visual effects have required a long time to complete.)

The Surrogates. (September 25). This one's a bit unclear. Disney bought the rights to the robot-avatar graphic novel back in March 2007. They hired the writers of Terminators 3 and 4, Michael Ferris and John Brancato, to write the screenplay. The following November, Bruce Willis signed up to star, and T3 director Jonathan Mostow was announced as director. The film was supposed to start filming in February, but the rest of the cast wasn't announced until the following April, a few months after the strike ended. So it's entirely possible the script needed some rewrites. And got them. So it may be fine. Except that it's from the writers and director of Terminator 3.

Zombieland. (October 9) This zombie buddy comedy didn't even snag star Woody Harrelson until late August 2008, a good six months after the strike ended. And co-star Jesse Eisenberg was "in talks" to appear in the film in October 2008. So I'm guessing there was plenty of time to get a script together at some point.

The Road. (October 16) This bleak Cormac McCarthy adaptation was filmed in Western Pennsylvania early in 2008, and has been on ice for a year — it was originally supposed to open in 2008. Now all we have to worry about is that producer Harvey Weinstein forced some unwise edits on the film in the interim.

The Wolfman. (November 6) This is another one that's been sitting on ice for ages — Benicio Del Toro signed up for the lead role in March 2006 (!) and there was a script review in August 2006. (If anything, looking at this crop of movies, I'm starting to wonder why so many were delayed for so long.) Del Toro got a costar, Emily Blunt, in January 2008, and it looks like the film was filmed soon after.

2012. (Nov. 13) We covered this in our rundown of the writer's strike and summer movies — because it was originally supposed to come out this summer. (Yes, another delayed film.) But the strike didn't actually impact this film much at all, because the script was bought right after the strike ended.

Avatar. (December 18) James Cameron has been working on this film since before you were born. And yes, I don't care how old you are, it's still true. In any case, chances are he's had plenty of opportunities to tinker with the script. Here he is, talking it up in 2006.

The Book Of Eli. (January 15). The Hughes Brothers (From Hell) signed up to direct this post-apocalyptic bibliophile samurai pic back in May 2007, and they were trying to rush it into production in the fall of 2007 "before a possible strike." Obviously, this didn't work out — the film's star, Denzel Washington, wasn't even announced until September 2008, and filming didn't happen until earlier this year. So count this as another film that was delayed — maybe due to the strike.

And I think from there on out, you're looking at movies that were greenlit after the strike, so you're probably all good. Looking at the crop of movies coming up this fall and winter, the main thing that's jumping out at me is that a lot of them were delayed for various reasons — probably not all to do with the strike. There are a lot of movies coming out from August to January, which were originally supposed to come out much earlier, but they were kept in the freezer. Make of that what you will.

When the studios decided to wait out the striking writers, they put a lot of big genre TV shows in jeopardy. Some emerged almost unscathed — Lost was able to go back and finish its fourth season — but several others took major damage. For example, Heroes had to end its second season early, leaving plotlines unresolved (Catilin?) and a bad taste in people's mouths. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ended its first season early, and by the time it came back after a nine-month gap, it had lost a lot of viewers, maybe permanently.

But because of the longer lead time for movies, we're just about to start seeing the effects of the strike — fewer movies, and worse movies. Says USA Today:

Another question, even some executives admit, is the caliber of 2009's movies. "The real impact of the strike could be felt next year," says Erik Lomis, head of distribution for MGM. "Some things were put on hold, some things were rushed to beat the strike, perhaps to a lesser quality. You never want to see that happen, but it's a concern."

So how does this affect the movies you care about? Here's a rundown, based on what we know so far:

X-Men: Origins: Wolverine.
What happened? According to the L.A. Times, this X-Men spinoff was rushing to get a script ready before the strike started. Fox Movies "issued an urgent SOS to the major agencies looking for a quick rewrite person" to get the script into shape in the last few remaining days, so Wolvie could start shooting in time to make a May 2009 release date.
What's the damage? We know the script was bad enough that it needed a rewrite. We know the rewrite was done in a hurry by someone the studio found by begging the talent agencies to find someone quick. We don't know how it turned out, though — maybe they got the greatest script doctor in the universe to step in. Also, it's possible there were more rewrites after the strike ended. Note that the film extended its shooting, ending in May instead of April.

G.I. Joe
What happened? That same L.A. Times article mentioned that Collateral scribe Stuart Beattie was frantically working on polishing up the Joe script before the deadline. Said producer Laurence di Bonaventura, "Given what’s at stake and the [time] we have left, our writers on every project are working under inhuman amounts of pressure."
What's the damage? Well, they didn't have to bring in an outside screenwriter. Beattie is a good writer, but "inhuman amounts of pressure" doesn't sound like the best circumstances to come up with story beats for Storm Shadow and the Baroness.

Star Trek:
What happened? The script was done in time, but director J.J. Abrams and producer Damon Lindelof couldn't tinker with it during filming — at least for the parts of filming that took place during the strike, because they're both WGA members. Said screenwriter John August: "J.J. was describing a scene he was shooting the day before. Midway through it, he got a great idea for a new line. Which he couldn’t write. Couldn’t shoot. Couldn’t be in his movie."
What's the damage? Honestly, pretty minor. It sounds as though we lost a few funny lines of dialogue. The film was still filming after the strike ended, so if Abrams felt strongly that a scene didn't work as written, he could have gone back and reshot later.

Terminator Salvation
What happened? The script was done before the strike hit, penned by Terminator 3 scribes Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato. But both producer James Middleton and director McG said in interviews that the script needed a rewrite, and they were hoping the strike would be done in time to punch it up before the movie started filming. The strike ended in February 2008, and they started filming in May. During that time, Jonathan (The Dark Knight) Nolan did a new revision of the script.
What's the damage? If we'd been stuck with a script by the writers of T3, I'd be horrified. But it sounds as though Nolan had plenty of time to fix it.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
What happened? Michael Bay wrote the script. Actually, from what I've gleaned from interviews with writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, they gave Bay an outline before the strike happened, and he tinkered with it during the strike, adding his own ideas. And then Orci and Kurtzman came back after the strike. Says Orci: "We gave them a treatment before the strike which they prepared off of, then when we came back, we started writing immediately, and back to your question about how we were able to do it. On "Transformers," we demanded to be teamed up with the amazing Ehren Kruger, who co-wrote the movie with us."
What's the damage? Well, if you think Michael Bay is the greatest, then it's not "damage," it's "extra awesomeness." But it does sound as though this sequel may be more Bay-tastic than the original, since Bay had a lot more time alone with the script than might be healthy.

Dragonball Evolution
What happened? I couldn't find any actual trustworthy information. However, there seems to be a pervasive belief, among message board posters and film-blog commenters, that the Dragonball movie wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the writers strike. The theory goes, Fox was desperate for a property to rush into production as the strike hit, and Dragonball had been languishing in development since 2002. So we have the strike to thank for Dragonball's very existence, supposedly.
What's the damage? Well, if you believe that theory (and it sounds plausible, I guess), then it depends how you feel about this movie. If you're excited to see James Marsters covered with funny makeup and sporting ribbed armor, then score one for the strike.

Land Of The Lost
What happened? Hard to say. Another L.A. Times article (in August 2007) mentioned this film among the movies that studios were rushing into production ahead of the strike. Will Ferrell had a busy calendar and could only shoot it in March 2008, in between other projects. The film was greenlit at the last moment, in October.
What's the damage? No clue. I read a big chunk of the script recently, and it was pretty meh. But that may not have been the result of a rushed development process.

2012
What happened? This was a spec script that Sony bought in a bidding war, the first big script to be bought after the strike ended, according to Latino Review.
What's the damage? It's going to be dumb — it's a Roland Emmerich disaster movie. But it won't be dumb because of the strike.

PS: Stay tuned for our 2009 movie forecast, in a few days.

Top image from Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.

With the strike going on, even rewrites can't be made to the film during shooting, so that nixes any possible fixes to the script, which is probably the main reason the studio is slowly turning around and saying, "Hmmm." That's also given them some time to consider the fan reaction to the cast of mostly unknowns and minor leaguers, and possibly to even consider the fact that they don't really want to alienate or piss off Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, especially if there's now a possible third new Batman movie in the works.

We hope this means there's still hope for movies like Terminator 4, which even the producers have mentioned needs a bit of script work. When asked about the script for the movie yesterday, producer James Middleton had said they would have liked to do a rewrite on it but, "We have a very strong script going into production, and it's absolutely viable to shoot." However, given the news about the JLA film, they may reconsider and press pause on this film in order to get the script they want.

Justice League Movie has been delayed! [IESB]

Just because there's going to be a drought of entertainment doesn't mean we want lame crud rushed to the screen for our benefit. Take your time, smell the roses, and give those scripts another read. If they suck, toss 'em. We'll be paying especially close attention to Neuromancer, Ender's Game, The Diamond Age and all the other upcoming sci fi movies. You have been warned!

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Those rumors that the writers' strike had killed any hope for Dushku's Dollhouse permanently aren't true, Joss claims. He also provided a new twist on the premise: instead of a toy for rich people as we'd heard previously, the main character is a secret agent. Dushku plays Echo, who can be programmed with the skills and memories she needs to carry out any covert assignment. The part about her spending her "downtime" between jobs as an amnesiac among other mind-wiped agents is still true.

Likewise, Ripper, the BBC show featuring Buffy's mentor Rupert Giles, is still going to happen, Joss insists. Fans stopped waiting for this look at Giles' dark side years ago. Ripper "isn't imminent, but it's absolutely on the slate. The Beeb have been grand." Eliza Dusku and Summer Glau photos by INF/Goff. [SFX]

• The aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind may make a cameo appearance in the fourth Indiana Jones movie. Steven Spielberg is avoiding CGI in favor of puppets, and he decided to pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of Encounters. There's retro, and then there's crazy retro. [MovieHole]
• The Hollywood writers' strike could be settled by Christmas, says Nikki Finke, a blogger who claims to have inside sources. That could allow stalled TV shows to get back on track, and let movies do some desperately needed rewrites. [Deadline Hollywood]

• One Journeyman producer already landed a new gig, after the show's apparent cancellation. Alex Graves will direct the pilot for Fringe, the new J.J. Abrams X-files clone, as soon as he's done with Journeyman in December.
• Chuck spoilers: in an upcoming episode, Chuck finally gets his cover blown. He has to leave town and live under permanent security. Anything to get rid of those horrid short-sleeved nerd shirts. [E!Online]
• Star Trek IV and Soylent Green both appear in Environmental Graffiti's list of the top five environmental films of all time. [via SFSignal]
• Tom Cruise could star in a Doctor Who TV movie in 2009, say unnamed (and probably completely bogus) sources at the BBC. Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Madonna are also being approached, the source says. [Stuff]

Hard to tell, but if it does, let's hope some serious retooling takes place. Here are three suggestions: (1) a renegade Jaime Sommers goes undercover against the Berkut Group (they replaced her legs, arm, eye and ear without her consent and the resulting weapons-grade Jaime willingly does their dirty work? C'mon, woman—grow a pair!); (2) more Sarah Corvus (I know it's unlikely given Katee Sackhoff's Battlestar Galactica commitment—but SC/KS is the best thing on the show); (3) cut the home life storylines to a minimum—I want to see Jaime Sommers kicking ass, not doling out The Rules to her little sister. Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty

'Bionic Woman' Nears Cancellation [SyFy Portal]
Writer's Strike Shuts Down Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica [Movieweb]

• Heroes is starting to woo back its lost viewers. If it finishes strong (with a tacked-on season ending) then it could gain from a long hiatus. We could forget how boring this season was, and be ready for the show to reinvent itself.
  
  • Doctor Who is set to air new episodes in England this spring, plus a Christmas episode next month. If the Sci Fi Channel is smart, it'll negotiate to air those new episodes as soon as possible, during the American TV drought. Also, a whole season of spin-off show Sarah Jane Adventures has aired in the U.K. but not the U.S. yet.

Meanwhile, the imminent Writer's Guild strike might make it all a moot point.