Hollywood has ground to a halt in the wake of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) going on strike, thereby forcing all kinds of movie and TV productions to shut up shop. As of 12:01 May 2, tinsel town’s screenwriters officially went on strike after weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the nine major studios, to ensure better pay came to nothing.
Despite the chaos this is causing in the industry, the WGA is being lent some vocal support by many of the big and small screen’s biggest stars. The topic of the strike was naturally a big talking point on the red carpet at yesterday’s Met Gala, with talk show titan Jimmy Fallon among those who made clear they stand with the writers. Fallon even confirmed that The Tonight Show will go dark for the duration of the strike.
“I wouldn’t have a show if it wasn’t for my writers and I support them all the way,” Fallon explained. Upon the reason for shutting down production, he added, “Whatever I can do to support the guild. I’m actually in the guild as well, so yeah. I couldn’t do my show without them. I support my whole staff.”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnan, meanwhile, said that she hopes “the writers get what they need” and that she “believe[s] in the power of unions.”
Similarly, Abbot Elementary star and showrunner Quinta Brunson stressed that she’s a WGA member herself and supports the strike. “No one wants this strike, but I hope we’re able to rectify this, whatever that means,” she said.
Amanda Seyfried, who recently appeared in Hulu’s The Dropout and is attached to Apple TV Plus’ upcoming The Crowded Room, admitted she’s “not in the room,” but that the situation seems straightforward to her as “everyone needs to be compensated for their work.” She colorfully added, “It’s f***ing easy. I don’t get it.”
On Twitter, Yvette Nicole Brown has thrown her lot behind the WGA as well, using comments about how the 2007-08 strike had such an adverse effect on certain shows at the time to back up her point.
Alanna Bennett — who worked on Netflix’s upcoming XO, Kitty — likewise highlighted the events of ’07 strike as proving how important this situation is.
Neil Gaiman took to Twitter to confirm he’s among those on strike, although thankfully he’s already completed work on Good Omens season two.
Expect even more voices to join the conversation as the strike continues.