'Hollywood actors on strike'

Hollywood actors went on strike at midnight after talks with studios broke down, joining film and television writers who have been on picket lines since May and deepening the disruption of scores of shows and movies.

As per reports, The Screen Actors Guild will join more than 10,000 members of the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines for the first time since 1960. 

They have been on strike against major studios and streaming services since May 2, forcing them to halt many productions across the United States and abroad.

Both SAG-AFTRA - Hollywood's largest union, representing 160,000 film and television actors - and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

The strike begins at midnight after its national board voted unanimously to authorize the walkout, the actors' union announced on Thursday after a deadline to reach a new contract expired on Wednesday.

Fran Drescher, former star of "The Nanny" TV show and the president of SAG-AFTRA, called the studios' responses to actors' concerns insulting and disrespectful as he said:  "I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us.

He continued: "I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things, how they plead poverty that they're losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions to their CEOs. It is disgusting."

Meanwhile, The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the trade association that negotiates on behalf of Netflix Inc (NFLX.O), Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and other production companies, said it was "deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations."