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US actors and writers have come out in force to protest outside some of the biggest production companies in the world in a move set to paralyse Hollywood’s film and TV industry.

For the first time in 63 years, both SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and WGA (the Writers Guild of America) simultaneously took to the streets of Los Angeles in a bid for fairer pay, better working conditions and addressing the concerns of AI use in production.

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis, Titanic actress Frances Fisher and radio and TV host Billy Bush were some of the famous faces spotted on the picket line as the joint protests started on Friday.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 14: Actor, Jason Sudeikis, seen with members of SAG-AFTRA seen picketing in front of NBC Studios in New York City on July 14, 2023. Credit: RW/MediaPunch /IPX
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Ted Lasso actor, Jason Sudeikis. Pic: AP/RW/MediaPunch /IPX

Discussions broke down between the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) which represents film studios, TV networks and streaming services.

Actors and writers claim their residual pay, money received from film and TV episode reruns, have been hit hard due to the streaming boom – broadcast TV rates were much higher.

Series have become shorter, breaks between seasons longer, and the unions say that although series budgets are rising, that increase is not being reflected in the share of the money coming to performers.

Actors also see their jobs as especially vulnerable to new technology, with AI able to replicate facial expressions, body movement and voice with alarming accuracy.

Members of both unions marched outside major studios including Warner Bros, Netflix and Disney. The 11,500 screenwriters belonging to WGA have been demonstrating since May.

Striking writers and actors walk with pickets outside The Walt Disney Company studio in Burbank, California on Friday, July 14, 2023. (Ringo Chiu via AP)
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Pic: AP

Striking writers and actors walk with pickets outside The Walt Disney Company studio in Burbank, California on Friday, July 14, 2023. (Ringo Chiu via AP)
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Pic: AP

Actor Rosario Dawson, center, attends a rally with striking writers and actors outside Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, Calif. on Friday, July 14, 2023. This marks the first day actors formally joined the picket lines, more than two months after screenwriters began striking in their bid to get better pay and working conditions and have clear guidelines around the use of AI in film and television productions.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Strikes took place outside Warner Bros. studios too. Pic: AP

What about British cinema?

The chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, Phil Clapp, said the strike may cause “little, if any, disruption” to British theatres for the “foreseeable future”, but premieres may not see the glamour of stars on the red carpet.

“While it will clearly be for each individual to make their own decision, it may be that until the dispute is resolved we will see some premieres not being supported by the ‘talent’ in front of or behind the camera,” he said.

“In terms of wider UK cinema-going, given the challenges UK cinema operators have faced in the last few years, all will be concerned by anything which might potentially threaten the supply of films to the big screen, and so it is very much hoped that there will be a quick resolution.

“Unless the current strike is a protracted one, we are confident that cinemas will see little if any disruption in the foreseeable future.”

Some productions in the UK have already been suspended as a result of the strike; Marvel’s Deadpool 3, featuring Ryan Reyolds and Hugh Jackman, has paused its filming in Norfolk.

Pictures also emerged this week of the abandoned set of Wicked in Buckinghamshire, after its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Eviro posted in support of the strike on social media.

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Oppenheimer cast support strike

Further solidarity was expressed by celebrities including George Clooney, Alec Baldwin and Halle Berry.

“This is an inflection point in our industry,” Clooney said in a statement. “Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living.

“For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now.”

Baldwin, who had all criminal charges dropped against him 18 months after Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on a film set, congratulated the union for calling the strike in order to protect its “rank and file” members.

“I don’t think anybody really wants a strike but they don’t want to continue under the unfair contracts that we’re working under now,” he said.

“So congratulations to everybody and I hope this is over right after we get everything we want.”

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Brian Cox: ‘Strikes may get unpleasant’

During the London premiere of the historical epic Oppenheimer on Thursday, actors including Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, and Emily Blunt left the red carpet to “write their picket signs”, the film’s director Christopher Nolan said.

Meanwhile, Succession star Brian Cox said the strike could get “very unpleasant” and may not be resolved until the end of the year.

The 1960 Hollywood revolt began and ended with screenwriters protesting for 148 days, with 42 days of actors striking sandwiched in between.

There had been no further dual strikes until now.

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Donald Trump’s tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

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Donald Trump's tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

For decades, trade and trade policy has been an economic and political backwater – decidedly boring, seemingly uncontroversial. 

Trade was mostly free and getting freer, tariffs were getting lower and lower, and the world was becoming more, not less, globalised.

But alongside those long-term trends, there were some serious consequences.

Trump latest: US president announces sweeping global trade tariffs

Mature, developed economies like the UK and US became ever more reliant on cheap imports from China and, in the process, saw their manufacturing sectors shrink.

Large swathes of the rust belt in the US – and much of the Midlands and North of England – were hollowed out.

And to some extent that’s where the story of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” really began – with the notion that free trade and globalisation had a darker side, a side he wants to remedy via tariffs.

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He imposed a set of tariffs in his first term, some on China, some on specific materials like steel and aluminium. But the height and the breadth of those tariffs were as nothing compared with the ones we have just heard about.

Not since the 1930s has the US so radically increased the level of tariffs on all nations across the world. Back then, those tariffs exacerbated the Great Depression.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the consequences of these ones will be. But there will be consequences.

Consequences for the nature of globalisation, consequences for the US economy (tariffs are exceptionally inflationary), consequences for geopolitics.

President Trump with his list of tariffs for various countries. Pic: Reuters
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Imports from the UK will face a 10% tariff, while EU goods will see 20% rates. Pic: Reuters

And to some extent, merely knowing that little bit more about the White House’s plans will deliver a bit of relief to financial markets, which have fretted for months about the imposition of tariffs. That uncertainty recently reached unprecedented levels.

But don’t for a moment assume that this saga is over. Nothing of the sort. In the coming days, we will learn more – more about the nuts and bolts of these policies, more about the retaliatory measures coming from other countries.

We will, possibly, get more of a sense about whether some countries – including the UK – will enjoy reprieves from the tariffs.

To paraphrase Churchill, this isn’t the end of the trade war, or even the beginning of the end – perhaps just the end of the beginning.

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‘A genius actor’, ‘firecracker’, and ‘my friend’: Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

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'A genius actor', 'firecracker', and 'my friend': Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.

The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.

She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.

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Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles

He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.

“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.

Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.

Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”

The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.

Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.

“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.

“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role ‘fake news’

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role 'fake news'

Elon Musk has called reports that he will leave his government role in the coming months “fake news”.

A senior White House official previously told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that Donald Trump had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.

Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., November 19, 2024 . Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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The Tesla boss has headed DOGE since 20 January. File pic: Reuters

After reports emerged of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “garbage” and added: “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”

Mr Musk added in response on X: “Yeah, fake news.”

NBC News reported that the official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.

That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.

Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.

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It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.

Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.

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‘Elon Musk has got to go’

In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.

A number of lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts over cuts recommended by DOGE.

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