The WGA Writer’s Strike has seen many shows of support over the last few days, with actors refusing to cross picket lines and many productions shutting down while the dispute continues. The latest stars to throw their weight behind the strike are Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad star Bob Odenkirk, and Mandy Patinkin, best known for playing Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. The pair joined marchers on Wednesday in New York outside Amazon’s Manhattan field office.
In a video, the award-winning stars are seen alongside many other strikers, with Patinkin carrying his own picket sign that echoes his Princess Bride character. The handwritten sign bears the words, “You killed residuals. Prepare to pay!” Speaking in the video shared by Deadline, Odenkirk says:
“It’s a shame that we have to do this, but writers need to be able to pay their bills and live a decent life when they’re writing this great material that we’re all getting to do and that’s providing such entertainment for everyone.”
Patinkin followed up on this by going along with everything Odenkirk said, and adding his own soundbite that speaks for many involved in the various branches of the strike. He said:
“Couldn’t agree more. And we’re nothing without our writers — without our writers, we’re a blank face.”
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Mandy Patinkin Has Joined Many Others Voicing Their Opinions on the Strike
Earlier in the week, Mandy Patinkin shared a video on his own Twitter account, showing his complete support for the WGA writer’s strike and stating that if studios are willing to invest so much money in production, they can also invest it in paying for the input writers have on every movie and TV show. In the video, Patinkin is seen simply standing, silent, to prove his point that he would be doing just that every time he appeared on-screen if not for the work of writers.
The writers strike has so far impacted many movies and TV shows, including Marvel Studios’ Blade movie and Daredevil: Born Again series, Billions, Stranger Things, a new Game of Thrones spin-off and many more. While some productions such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have continued filming in the U.K., there are clearly going to many more problems to come for productions that have been gearing up to start filming this summer. If there is no resolution to the issue found soon, then many studios will be once again forced to delay some of their big projects indefinitely.
The recent MTV Movie & TV Awards saw a number of celebrities giving their support to the strike action. Jennifer Coolidge defended writers during her acceptance speech for her Comedic Genius award, noting that those writers are responsible for bringing the comedy to life. Drew Barrymore backed out of hosting the ceremony to show her solidarity with writers, and late night shows were one of the first major casualties of the strike action with the likes of SNL being taken off air until the strike ends.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
