Movie and TV stars join picket lines in fight over the future of Hollywood

By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

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LOS ANGELES—Ted

Rosario Dawson, and other top movie and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters on Friday on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood’s biggest labor fight in decades.

A day after the dispute brought production to a standstill across the entertainment industry, Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York pressing for progress following the breakdown of contract talks with studios and streaming services. Dawson, star of the film Rent and the series Ahsoka, joined picketers outside Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California.

Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin marched with chanting protesters outside Netflix’s offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were Unforgiven actor Frances Fisher and Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The actors’ arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators.

Elsewhere, Once Upon a Time Goodwin stood with protesters at Paramount Pictures.

The famous faces of Oscar and Emmy winners will likely be seen with some regularity on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, adding star power to the demonstrations outside studios and corporate offices.

The walkout is the first double-barreled strike by actors and screenwriters in more than six decades.

In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with the 11,500 writers, who walked out in May. On Thursday, 65,000 members of the actors’ union formally joined them on strike.

The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services. They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services. The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.

Many on the picket lines took aim at Disney chief executive Bob Iger, who said on Wednesday that the damage the strikes will do to the entertainment economy is “a shame.”

“I think that when Bob Iger talks about what a shame it is, he needs to remember that in 1980, CEOs like him made 30 times what their lowest worker was making,” actor Sean Gunn, who starred in Guardians of the Galaxy, said outside Netflix.

Now Iger “makes 400 times what his lowest worker is. And I think that’s a shame, Bob. And maybe you should take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, ‘Why is that?’”

No talks are planned, and no end is in sight for the work stoppage. It is the first time both guilds have things are looking good for rayver

He was cast in amazing roles in drama series, like Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko; Nagbabagang Luha was also entrusted hosting chores in and The Clash walked off sets since 1960, when then-actor Ronald Reagan was SAG’s leader.

Now after only five years, Cruz is in the network’s “leading men” pool, and a much sought-after host and performance artist, too. And because he is a hardworking young man who is also popular as a team player and a most pleasant coworker, blessings continue to pour into his life.

“What we won in 1960 was our health and pension plans and the existence of residuals. That was the most important strike in LA union history, and now we’re on strike together again, and honestly, this strike is even bigger,” Adam Conover, host of the TV series Adam Ruins Everything and member of the Writers Guild negotiating committee, said outside Netflix. “We’re going to win. If you are gaining momentum like we are, 70-odd days into a strike, you are going to win.”

Conover was one of many picketers, including Sudeikis, who are members of both unions.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has lamented the walkout, saying it will hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.

The actors’ strike will affect more than filming. Stars will no longer be allowed to promote their work through red carpet premieres or personal appearances. They cannot campaign for Emmy awards or take part in auditions or rehearsals.

The strike triggered cancellations of red carpet events scheduled for next week for Special Ops: Lioness, starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer

A Haunted Mansion premiere event at Disneyland on Saturday was set to go on as planned, but with no actors in attendance to promote the film.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said it was clear that the entertainment industry “is at a historic inflection point.” She urged all parties to work around the clock until an agreement is reached.

“This affects all of us and is essential to our overall economy,” Bass said in a statement.

The writers’ strike had already stopped much of television production, and the actors joining them immediately led to a shooting shutdown for many major films, including Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2 and the eighth installment of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series. All are scheduled for release next year.

The writers’ strike also shut down late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, as well as several scripted shows that have either had their writers’ rooms or production paused. Many more are sure to follow them now that performers also have been pulled. n so excited when we were told that we would headline

The lovebirds actually started shooting in 2020 but the pandemic had to put the movie on hold. “I never doubted that we would finish this project when the time was right, and true enough, when the situation started to normalize, we started shooting again. And setting biases aside, I was so impressed by Julie Anne and what she gave to her role in this movie.”

GMA resident artist Rayver Cruz told us in a past interview that he always trusts his intuition.

“The batting average is quite high when I trust my instincts. It is something that I cannot put into words or accurately describe. It’s like this feeling, like a voice that tells me to go ahead, or to take a few steps back, you know...it’s hard to explain. But in the many major decisions of my life, especially those that are careerrelated, it always works out well when I trust my instincts,” he said.

When Cruz made the big jump from his former studio to GMA Network in 2018, not a few raised their eyebrows. But he was ready to take his brave leap so he followed his heart, and things has been on an upswing for this actor-dancer-singer-host ever since.

The unplanned detour in the romantic aspect of his life also added to the premium of the brand he has slowly worked hard for all these years. Cruz kept relatively quiet when his five-year relationship with actress Janine Gutierrez ended, and he remained elusive when his feelings started to develop for his The Clash co-host Julie Ann San Jose, who eventually became his girlfriend.

Now, their relationship continues to bloom and grow, much to the delight of their friends and followers. The couple even has a movie coming up, Rod Marmol’s The Cheating Game cinemas on July 26.

“I’m excited about this movie, the first movie venture of GMA Public Affairs. It’s about secrets that a couple tries to keep hidden but these eventually surface to complicate the relationship. The script is intelligently written, that’s why Julie Ann and I were

Cruz turns a year older on July 20, and he can feel that it will be another good year. “I remain grateful for all the blessings I have been receiving. My brother Rodjun [Cruz] is doing well and he has started his own small, happy family. My older brother Gino [Ilustre] is making a comeback, and is getting good senior character roles for both TV and film, and I’m glad he is also with us in GMA. My intuition tells me that it will

When showbiz colleagues tease Cruz’s girlfriend and refers to her as Mrs. Cruz, she automatically blushes and lets out a big smile, and Cruz also always breaks into a wide grin. “I have fallen so deeply in love with Julie Anne, and of course there’s no one else I’d like to be Mrs. Cruz than her, God-willing, someday

So as long as Rayver Cruz continues to trust his instincts, and plays his cards right, we are sure that