Striking Hollywood writers got some support from famous friends during their first day of their strike against movie studios and TV networks.
Talk show host Jay Leno offered doughnuts for striking writers at the NBC network; actress Julia Louis-Dreyfuss marched in a picket line outside Warner Bros. headquarters; and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama urged producers to work with writers to end the strike.
Fellow candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a contract recognizing the writers' contributions to the entertainment industry. Each candidate has received more than $2 million in campaign contributions from the entertainment industry.
Despite the support, the financial reality of a work stoppage loomed large for many striking writers. Michelle Mulroney, 40, and her husband both write feature films. "I'm fortunate. I can strike for a while," she said. "But most people I know will feel the crunch today."
Zoe Green, 26, just sold her first pilot, but the strike will prevent her from writing the script. "This will be very tough for me personally, but I 100 percent support our cause, " she said. "I'm going to be struggling on $6,000 until this ends."
More than 12,000 U.S. film and television writers are on strike. Talks collapsed on November 4 after writers and producers failed to agree over residual revenues for Internet downloads of television shows and movies.
