As if dwindling box office returns amid skyrocketing budgets were not a big enough headache, the ongoing strike by writers in Hollywood - which has held up several major productions - saw A-list actors joining up and effectively grinding production across the valley to a halt.
Actors such as 'Ted Lasso' star and writer Jason Sudeikis, along with 'Lord of the Rings' star Sean Astin, 'Titanic' and 'Unforgiven' actor Frances Fisher, and 'The Nanny' star Fran Drescher picked up placards and chanted slogans against the use of artificial intelligence and compensation.
The protesters, with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists galvanizing protests, gathered outside the offices of global streaming behemoth Nextflix to protest.
Netflix was not the only studio to face strikes. 'Once Upon a Time' actor Gennifer Goodwin joined protests outside Paramount Pictures.
The combined walkout by writers and actors is the first strike in over half a century.
Insiders say production has all but shut down across Hollywood because of the strike, with talks over new contracts with studios and streaming services have broken down.
The protesters feel that the heft of Oscar and Emmy-winning actors joining the strikes with some 65,000 guild members on the streets will finally get studio executives out of their ivory towers.
The protesters have demanded that higher contracts keep up with inflation and include residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for using their material beyond the original airing windows, such as in reruns or on streaming services.
The unions also want to protect members against the disruption caused by artificial intelligence, which can mimic their work on film and television.
Drescher, for one, lashed out at studio executives for "pleading poverty" and "losing money left and right" even as they award themselves hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.
More than just writing and production, with the actors joining in, associated events such as red carpets, premiers and other appearances will also wind down.
The strike has already taken down shows like 'Saturday Night Live' and paused production of 'Stranger Things' and is impacting Ryan Reynolds' 'Deadpool 3' many more.
So far, the strike is set to stay in impasse-ville with no planned talks.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents streaming and production employers such as Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has maintained that the strike will only hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.
Actors such as 'Ted Lasso' star and writer Jason Sudeikis, along with 'Lord of the Rings' star Sean Astin, 'Titanic' and 'Unforgiven' actor Frances Fisher, and 'The Nanny' star Fran Drescher picked up placards and chanted slogans against the use of artificial intelligence and compensation.
The protesters, with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists galvanizing protests, gathered outside the offices of global streaming behemoth Nextflix to protest.
Netflix was not the only studio to face strikes. 'Once Upon a Time' actor Gennifer Goodwin joined protests outside Paramount Pictures.
The combined walkout by writers and actors is the first strike in over half a century.
Insiders say production has all but shut down across Hollywood because of the strike, with talks over new contracts with studios and streaming services have broken down.
The protesters feel that the heft of Oscar and Emmy-winning actors joining the strikes with some 65,000 guild members on the streets will finally get studio executives out of their ivory towers.
The protesters have demanded that higher contracts keep up with inflation and include residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for using their material beyond the original airing windows, such as in reruns or on streaming services.
The unions also want to protect members against the disruption caused by artificial intelligence, which can mimic their work on film and television.
Drescher, for one, lashed out at studio executives for "pleading poverty" and "losing money left and right" even as they award themselves hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.
More than just writing and production, with the actors joining in, associated events such as red carpets, premiers and other appearances will also wind down.
The strike has already taken down shows like 'Saturday Night Live' and paused production of 'Stranger Things' and is impacting Ryan Reynolds' 'Deadpool 3' many more.
So far, the strike is set to stay in impasse-ville with no planned talks.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents streaming and production employers such as Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has maintained that the strike will only hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.