Hollywood ain’t feeling the economic pinch when it comes to its industry of big blockbuster movies. It was reported this week that the studios’ tent pole films for 2009, 2010, 2011 are secured with hundreds of millions of dollars in production financing. So while we writhe in an economic depression for the next few years, donating our body weight in plasma and blood each week just to make rent, we can at least feel secure that there will be salvation at the multiplex from our woes.

One reason we’re seeing such a ramp up in Hollywood film production is that the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike is waning—economics are trumping ideals and actors' rights—or at least that’s what I’m gleaning from the studios' actions and my out-of-work actor/below-the-line friend. SAG’s contract with the producers expired at the end of June 2008. For fear of starting a film and then being stopped by strike, the major studios significantly pulled the reigns in on productions since October 2007. For a year, Hollywood has truly been impotent. And that’s not cool for the cadre of thespian stallions.

That said, box-office receipts through September have been anything but fallow. We’re talking $7 billion, domestically alone. I read one claim that 10 percent of that is coming from The Dark Knight and Iron Man exclusively.

WTW?! (What the Wasilla?!)

That’s some mad cash. And I thought The Dark Knight was a rudderless mess.

SIDE NOTE: Could someone explain to me why it was “so good,” save for the fact that it appealed to our reptilian brain and its need for high-octane explosions. Why was Bruce Wayne into Maggie Gyllenhaal? She should have reprised her role from Secretary. Then we've got a movie.

Here’s Variety’s list of the studios’ slates:

COLUMBIA
—Ruben Fleischer-directed Zombieland
—Phillip Noyce-helmed Salt, starring Angelina Jolie
—Stephen Chow-directed The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen

DISNEY
—Tim Burton-directed Alice in Wonderland
—Tron sequel
—Robert Zemeckis-produced, motion-capture film Mars Needs Moms
—Jon Turteltaub-directed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Nicolas Cage
—Walt Becker-helmed Wild Hogs 2

FOX
—James Cameron-directed Avatar
—Shawn Levy-helmed Date Night, starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey
—A-Team
—Ramona
—Chris Columbus-directed Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
—Diary of a Wimpy Kid
—John Carney-directed Town House
—Alvin and the Chipmunks 2
—Tom Bezucha-directed Orbit
—Rick Famuyiwa-helmed Family Wedding

MGM
—Drew Goddard-directed The Cabin in the Woods
—Kevin Tancharoen-helmed Fame
—The Matarese Circle, which David Cronenberg is negotiating to direct Denzel Washington
—Darren Aronofsky-helmed RoboCop

MARVEL
(Paramount distributing)
—Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man 2, starring Robert Downey Jr.
—Kenneth Branagh-helmed Thor

MIRAMAX
—John Madden-directed The Debt, starring Helen Mirren
—Man on a Train
—Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

NEW LINE
—Torrente
—Sex and the City 2
—Wesley Strick-directed A Nightmare on Elm Street
—Len Wiseman-helmed Gears of War

PARAMOUNT
—Kenny Ortega-directed Footloose, starring Zac Efron
—M. Night Shyamalan-helmed The Last Airbender
—Morning Glory
—Beverly Hills Cop
—Us and Them

UNIVERSAL
—Edgar Wright-directed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, starring Michael Cera
—Untitled Nancy Meyers-helmed comedy with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin
—Peter Billingsley-directed Couples Retreat, starring Vince Vaughn
—Gore Verbinski-helmed BioShock
—Nicholas Stoller-directed Get Him to the Greek
—Ridley Scott-helmed Nottingham with Russell Crowe

WARNER BROS.
—Clint Eastwood-directed Human Factor, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon
—Mark Neveldine- and Brian Taylor-helmed Jonah Hex
—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the David Yates-directed final, two-part installment in the franchise, which begins production in February
—Alcon-financed Book of Eli, directed by the Hughes brothers and starring Denzel Washington
—Louis Leterrier-helmed Clash of the Titans
—Zack Snyder-directed Suckerpunch