There’s a possibility of a second Hollywood strike happening, this time pioneered by the actors’ guild.

George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, and Meryl Streep have collectively threatened just that over upcoming contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over a deal that expires June 30. The Oscar-winning quartet has taken out full-page ads in showbiz trade rags Variety and the Hollywood Reporter that vaguely hint at another work stoppage:

“As proud members of [the Screen Actors' Guild], we have seen the effect of a long-running strike on our community,” the ad reads. “Now that the writers have agreed to a deal, our hope is to get people back to work.”

The ad, which ends with the stars’ names, continues: “Issues are important…Nothing can be solved until both parties agree to sit down together…There is too much at stake to wait.”

Which makes this little business from a few weeks ago seem all the more sneaky:

Both Clooney and Hanks are making it clear publicly that they’re concerned about the writers strike’s collateral damage. Hanks said corporate bosses should remember that many ancillary businesspeople were suffering from the studios and networks refusing to restart negotiations with the Writers Guild. “There are caterers and carpenters … and electricians and gaffers,” Hanks told Reuters in London [on January 9]. “There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better.” And Clooney said much the same thing when he appeared onstage at Monday night’s Critics Choice Awards (photo above): “When the strike happens, it’s not just writers [affected]… Our hope is that all the players will lock themselves in a room and not come out until they finish. We want this to be done. That’s the most important thing.”

Please God no, I can’t take it. Just give these thespian-terrorists anything they want. They already have millions of dollars, so ceding control of a small country ought to do it. Maybe Brazil?