The Writers Guild of America strike against Hollywood studios and streamers continued Thursday, with Gina Prince-Bythewood and Drew Barrymore showing solidarity with writers.
Day three of the strike saw Prince-Bythewood, known for her work on The Woman King and Love & Basketball, joining the picket line outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.
“We are out here because we want everyone to succeed, obviously when the studios succeed, we all succeed,” the writer-director told Deadline. “But we want our fair share. We want to be paid fairly, we want to share in the success.”
WHY I’M STRIKING: “We want everyone to succeed…but we want our fair share” – Gina Prince-Bythewood, director, ‘The Woman King’, outside Warner Bros in Burbank today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/4PBDIQFuwV
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 4, 2023
Related Story: ‘SNL’ Cancels Lil Uzi Vert Performance and Pete Davidson Hosting Debut Due to Writers Strike
Earlier in the day, Barrymore announced she was dropping out as host of Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, to stand in support with the writers.
“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live, in solidarity with the strike,” she said in a statement.
The actress and talk show host agreed to return next year to emcee the awards show.
“I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with,” she added. “And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.”
The awards are scheduled to go on for now, but the red carpet arrivals line has been scrapped.
On Tuesday, Jay Leno handed out boxes of donuts to writers walking the picket line at Disney Studios in Burbank, just like he did during the 2007 writers strike.
Jay Leno just came to Disney to hand out donuts to us writers. Thank you @jayleno for the solidarity!! #WGAStrong pic.twitter.com/4pq8kpWTSk
— Caroline “WGA Captain” Renard (@carolinerenard_) May 2, 2023
The WGA strike is the result of stalled negotiations over higher pay and concerns about the role of artificial intelligence in screenwriting projects.
The guild called the strike once talks with the studios and streamers broke down Monday night, prompting 11,500 film and television writers to walk out in Los Angeles, New York and other cities on Tuesday afternoon.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, issued a statement Monday saying it made a “generous” offer, which was rejected by the WGA.
Once the strike started, late-night shows were the first to go dark.
As previously reported, the strike has disrupted production on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Seth Meyers, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
This weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which former SNL cast member Pete Davidson was scheduled to host, has also been canceled. Lil Uzi Vert was booked to serve as musical guest.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.