LOS ANGELES - Hollywood writers marked the 100th day of their industry-crippling strike Wednesday, dubbing the occasion a "milestone of shame" for studios as the two sides remain deadlocked.
Since early May, the Writers Guild of America walkout has brought countless film shoots and productions to a halt, costing the California economy millions of dollars each day, but the two sides have barely spoken.
The chaos wrought on the entertainment industry only deepened last month, when writers were joined on the picket lines by the far larger Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA).
"The refusal to take writers' reasonable proposals seriously has caused the WGA strike to last 100 days and counting; it serves only as a milestone of shame" for the studios, the WGA told AFP.
The studios "are wholly responsible for the over three-month shutdown of the industry and the pain it has caused workers and all others whose livelihoods depend on this business," said a union statement.
Writers and actors are demanding better pay and residuals, guarantees over the future use of artificial intelligence, and other working conditions.
"The cost of settling the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes is far less than the damage their intractability has caused," said the WGA statement.
Coincidentally, the last WGA strike, in 2007-08, was resolved after exactly 100 days.