The film and TV studios showing their true colors during the WGA writers’ strike is frustrating. The more we hear about writers struggling to pay for rent and barely getting paid for their job as is, the more the studios just essentially laugh at them. It’s very upsetting because we can see just how much these executives make and how little the writers are actually asking for, and it has now turned into a lot of stars coming out to support the writers who help make the stories they’re telling.
From our faves shouting out the WGA at the MTV Movie and TV Awards to stars appearing on the picket lines throughout the strike, actors are showing their support for the writers. And today, everyone is obsessed with Mandy Patinkin’s unwavering support for the WGA. The moment the strike began, Patinkin began sharing resources through his Twitter account, and now, he’s taken to the picket line in New York City with a sign that has everyone talking.
Patinkin is a Broadway legend, but he also starred in movies like The Princess Bride as Inigo Montoya. The character was searching for revenge after his father was killed by the six-fingered man, and Inigo knew exactly what he wanted to say to him when he finally came face to face with his father’s murderer: “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” It’s one of those iconic lines that really just show audiences how important writers are.
And so, Patinkin took to the strike with his own version of it: “You killed residuals, prepare to pay.”
Patinkin was joined by a myriad of other TV actors we’ve come to love, all showing their dedication to the WGA and their fight.
A rightfully star-studded event
As always, movies and television shows would be nothing without their writers. In fact, no media would exist without a writer telling a story in the first place. So, actors going out of their way to share their support for the WGA just … well, makes sense. Because without those words to say and those stories to tell, they’d be without a job. And with production of shows like Severance (which films in New York) shutting down, many of the stars took to the picket lines to share their support for writers there.
Honestly, when I stop and think about it, without writers, I wouldn’t have a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat, because Ben Wyatt (who Adam Scott played) was created by writers. And that’s something I think a lot of people who are oddly opposed to the strike seem to forget. Studios don’t create characters and stories, writers do.
And look, you should want to support writers. If you think that AI is the way to go, why are you even here reading this? I’m a human woman writing it, so go somewhere else. But these strikes are also a great way to show the writers and creatives of your favorite things you love them. And if you’re lucky, you can see Saul Berenson and Saul Goodman together supporting the WGA.
Support the WGA, support writers, and remember that without them, we wouldn’t have characters like Inigo Montoya to fall in love with. And that’s why we will always need writers.
(featured image: 20th Century Pictures)
