Image source, Reuters

Hollywood writers have been striking for months, but today, their protest and calls for a fairer split of the profits with streaming giants reaches a new level as they are joined by the SAG actors union which boasts 160,000 members.

This means that high-profile actors will join them on the picket lines inevitably bringing more attention to the cause.

Here's where things stand as California wakes up and the strike begins.

• Writers and actors will join the picket lines in Los Angeles at 09:00 local time (12:00 EST, 17:00 BST)
• During the strike, stars won't be able to promote their own work or appear in films and affected programmes will halt production
• Fran Drescher, SAG president, will begin picketing outside Netflix offices and then travel to Paramount Studios, Warner Brothers and Disney
• Many actors have weighed in with their support including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jamie Lee Curtis
• Protests are also expected in New York at studio offices, though theatre productions on Broadway are not impacted by the strike

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome back to our live coverage of the strike in Hollywood, the largest shutdown the industry has seen in decades.

Writers in the entertainment industry have been on strike since May, and some 160,000 actors are joining the cause today.

The news of the strike first broke on Wednesday, when the union, officially known as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), announced it was unable to come to an agreement with studios.

The union wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions. They are also concerned about artificial intelligence being used by studios.

The strike means the vast majority of US film and TV shows will stop production.

We'll be bringing you live updates on the walkout, so stay with us.

We're pausing our live coverage of the Hollywood strikes.

It's been a remarkable day when, for the first time in 40 years, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced it will go on strike after not reaching a deal with major studios.

Here are some key takeaways:

• The strike starts at midnight (local time) and is expected to halt production of many films and television shows, as well as promotional events like red carpets
• SAG president Fran Drescher spoke fiercely of the failed negotiations and blasted studios for paying CEOs "hundreds of millions of dollars"

• Stars of the film Oppenheimer left the London premiere after the strike was announced
• Disney CEO Bob Iger said this strike is "very disturbing" and comes at the "worst time", while the industry recovers from the pandemic
• Many actors, like Jamie Lee Curtis and Cynthia Nixon, voiced their support for the strike
• We're expecting celebrities to join picket lines outside major US studios tomorrow morning

This page was edited by Brandon Livesay and Chloe Kim was our reporter.

Thanks for joining us.

Image source, Reuters

Stars of Barbie and Oppenheimer (hotly anticipated films which are known by millions on social media as 'Barbenheimer'), have shared their thoughts on the strike.

Oppenheimer's Matt Damon said what they are striking for is "unbelievably important". He told the Associated Press: "we got to protect the people who are kind of on the margins".

"If those residual payments dry up, so does their healthcare, and that's absolutely unacceptable," Damon said.

Oppenheimer co-star Emily Blunt, who was interviewed before the official strike announcement, said she hopes "everyone makes a fair deal", but said if they call a strike: "we’ll be leaving together as cast in unity with everyone".

And that is what the cast did, after walking the red carpet. Oppenheimer director, Christopher Nolan, said "unfortunately they've left to write their picket signs".

Barbie star Margot Robbie has also said she is "absolutely" in support of the strike.

Speaking at the Barbie movie premiere, Robbie told Pop Culture Journalist Natalie Jamieson: "I'm obviously on board and part of SAG and I'm definitely in support of all unions so I hope everyone reaches an agreement they're happy with."

SAG president Fran Drescher tells the BBC's Sophie Long the union came to the conclusion to strike because they were "stonewalled" by studios even after the 12 day extension.

"We continued to be cut out of the conversation, they went behind closed doors," Drescher said.

"And frankly, I think we were duped so that they could keep promoting this summer movies a little bit longer."

Major blockbusters which are scheduled for release over the next few weeks include Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

Long also asked Drescher about Disney CEO Bob Iger's comments that this strike cannot come at a worse time for Hollywood, as it recovers from Covid shutdowns.

Drescher replied, "put up or shut up".

We've seen celebrity actors come out in support of the strike, so now let's take a look at what one of the most powerful people in the industry has to say.

Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke with US outlet CNBC earlier, saying the unions were being unrealistic.

"It's very disturbing to me," Iger said, mentioning how the industry was still recovering from the pandemic.

"This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption," he said.

The last time members of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) walked out was in July 1980.

The walkout lasted 10 weeks.

The cost to the industry of that strike was estimated to be $100m (£131m), the New York Times said at the time, equivalent to about $370m today.

The last time both writers and actors went on strike together was in 1960 - when writers downed tools for 21 weeks and actors stopped work for six.

In 2007, writers went on strike for 100 days, at an estimated cost of about $2bn to the industry.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, we heard from Fran Drescher, SAG's president, who said "the gravity of this move is not lost on me".

Drescher, known for her hit 1990s sitcom The Nanny, says the strike comes at a "very seminal moment" for actors working in the industry as studios "plead poverty".

She said studios claim they're losing money, but are "giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs".

"It is disgusting - shame on them," Drescher said at the SAG press conference.

"What's happening to us is happening across all fields of labour.

"When employers make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run."

She said studios "are on the wrong side of history" and if members don't stand together, "we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines".

SAG-AFTRA members, about 160,000 actors and performers, are expected to join screenwriters on picket lines tomorrow morning (local time), causing a large proportion of production work to stop.

Writers have been striking for several months already and have picketed outside the studios of major streamers including Disney, Netflix and Paramount. They are also striking over pay, work conditions and the use of AI in the industry.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's take a quick look at how some Hollywood stars have reacted to the strike announcement.

Actress Cynthia Nixon, best known for her role in Sex and the City and its reboot And Just Like That, tweeted:

And Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis took to Instagram, external, saying "it's time to take down the masks", referencing the SAG-AFTRA symbol, "and pick up the signs".

Earlier in the day she wrote: "Union contracts PROTECT our SAFETY and EXPLOITATION! We are UNION STRONG!"

Image source, Getty Images

Several Oppenheimer stars left the UK premiere of their blockbuster film before the screening began, after news of the strike was announced.

Director Christopher Nolan told the audience before the screening of the film that "unfortunately they've left to write their picket signs".

Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh were seen on the red carpet in London prior to the screening.

Christopher Nolan's much-hyped movie tells the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, known for developing the atomic bomb.

Some of the biggest blockbusters currently in production which could be impacted include:

• Wonder Woman 3
• Ghostbusters 4
• Mufasa: The Lion King
• Avatar 3 and 4

Upcoming releases due to hold promotional events like press junkets and red-carpet premieres include:

• Disney's Haunted Mansion (released 28 July)
• A new Seth Rogen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film (2 August)
• Sir Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie mystery A Haunting In Venice (15 September).

Overseas productions could also be affected, like Paramount's Gladiator sequel which is filming in Morocco and Malta.

You can read more about what will happen to your favourite films and television shows in this article.

Image source, Get

The group representing the studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, said that "a strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life".

"The union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry," its statement added.

Image source, Get

The Screen Actors Guild has announced it will go on strike, marking the start of the largest shutdown Hollywood has seen in some 40 years.

On Wednesday, the union - officially known as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA - announced that it was unable to come to an agreement with major studios.

The union wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions.

Its negotiating committee voted unanimously to recommend strike action.

This means the vast majority of US film and TV productions will stop production.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the largest Hollywood strike in decades.

Earlier, we heard from the Screen Actors Guild who announced it will go on strike at midnight.

The union wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates to this story.