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Writers’ Strike Freezes ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff 

Demonstrators chant and hold signs during a Writers Guild of America demonstration outside of Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP)
Demonstrators chant and hold signs during a Writers Guild of America demonstration outside of Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP)
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Writers’ Strike Freezes ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff 

Demonstrators chant and hold signs during a Writers Guild of America demonstration outside of Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP)
Demonstrators chant and hold signs during a Writers Guild of America demonstration outside of Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP)

Writing for a new season of "The Handmaid's Tale" and a coming "Game of Thrones" prequel was halted as a nearly week-long strike by thousands of film and television writers rippled across Hollywood on Monday.

The writers of Emmy-winning Hulu drama "The Handmaid's Tale" had penned some early episodes for a new season ahead of filming that was supposed to start in late summer, said co-executive producer and writer Yahlin Chang.

Writing of the dystopian drama stopped when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called a strike last week, Chang told Reuters on Monday.

A representative for Hulu declined to comment.

Also on Monday, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin said in a blog post that the writers' room for prequel series "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" was "closed for the duration of the strike."

The WGA began a work stoppage on May 2 after failing to reach a new labor agreement with higher pay from Hollywood studios such as Netflix Inc and Walt Disney Co. The studios have said they made a "generous" offer to boost compensation.

Late-night talk shows immediately went dark, and some TV series and movies have followed. The final season of Netflix hit "Stranger Things" was paused. Marvel movie "Blade," starring Mahershala Ali, shut down just before filming was set to start.

"The Hedge Knight" was touted by Warner Bros executives last month as one of the marquee shows in development for Max, the new name for what had been HBO Max.

The series is set 100 years before the events of "Game of Thrones," a time when the Targaryen line holds the Iron Throne, and focuses on a young knight and his squire.

Warner Bros has not announced a release date for "The Hedge Knight."

The second season of "House of the Dragon," another "Game of Thrones" prequel, began filming in April, Martin said, and will continue in London and Wales. All eight episodes already were written and revised, he said.

Martin also expressed his "unequivocal support" for the WGA.

"I hope the writers are given a fair deal as soon as possible," US President Joe Biden said at a screening of the film "American Born Chinese" at the White House as part of a celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

It is unclear how long the strike will last. No new talks have been scheduled between the Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group negotiating on behalf of studios.

"Maybe the AMPTP members will come to their senses tomorrow and offer some meaningful concessions, and the whole thing can be wrapped up next week," Martin said. "I would not bet the ranch on that, however ... I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now."

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Timothee Chalamet Channels Young Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown'

FILE PHOTO: Timothee Chalamet attends a premiere of the film "A Complete Unknown" at Dolby theater in Los Angeles, California, US December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Timothee Chalamet attends a premiere of the film "A Complete Unknown" at Dolby theater in Los Angeles, California, US December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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Timothee Chalamet Channels Young Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown'

FILE PHOTO: Timothee Chalamet attends a premiere of the film "A Complete Unknown" at Dolby theater in Los Angeles, California, US December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Timothee Chalamet attends a premiere of the film "A Complete Unknown" at Dolby theater in Los Angeles, California, US December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Timothee Chalamet likened his journey to playing music legend Bob Dylan to an athletic feat. It turned into a marathon that stretched longer than the actor had expected.
Chalamet signed up to play Dylan in 2019. Then came a global pandemic and labor strikes in Hollywood, forcing two extended delays to filming.
"A Complete Unknown," the movie about Dylan's quick rise to stardom in the early 1960s, will finally be released in theaters on Wednesday, Christmas Day, by Walt Disney's Searchlight Pictures.
The disruptions gave the "Dune" actor more time to work out how to translate the towering figure to the big screen. Chalamet learned to play guitar and harmonica and worked with a vocal coach to evolve from his smooth "Wonka" singing to Dylan's distinctive, nasal voice, Reuters reported.
"It was the most I've ever taken on," Chalamet said in an interview, comparing the preparation to "the climbing of a steep hill."
"A Complete Unknown" chronicles Dylan's arrival in New York in 1961 at age 19, his rapid ascent in folk music circles with songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind," and his divisive turn to electric rock music in 1965. The movie's title is taken from a line in the Dylan hit "Like a Rolling Stone."
Chalamet said he immersed himself in whatever video he could find of Dylan in the early '60s, a time of political and social upheaval in the United States.
"There's a finite amount of material available, especially in this period," Chalamet said. "At some point you can turn every page over. Not to say that I have, but if I haven't I've come damn close to it."
In the summer of 2023, Chalamet said, "I felt like I hit a runner's high" in the preparation.
"I felt like my muscles were strong and I was well prepared, and that every day was sort of just chipping away slowly at this bigger thing," he said.
Just as Chalamet was ready, Hollywood actors went on strike, and he worried that funding or casting might fall apart. The final go-ahead to start filming came in March 2024.
DYLAN WEIGHS IN
The real-life Dylan provided input on the script to director James Mangold but never met or spoke with Chalamet, though he recently described the star as "a brilliant actor."
"I'm sure he's going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me," Dylan wrote on social media platform X.
Chalamet's performance has earned praise from critics and predictions that he could garner his second Oscar nomination. He and co-star Edward Norton were nominated for Golden Globes.
Other co-stars include Elle Fanning, who plays girlfriend Suze Rotolo who appeared on the cover of the album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" but goes by the name Sylvie Russo in the film.
Monica Barbaro portrays singer Joan Baez, who had already landed on the cover of Time magazine when her career intersected with Dylan's. At the time, Baez was trying to figure out how to use her platform as an activist.
"Bob came in and was kind of a mess of a boy, but also an absolute poet and brilliant lyricist, and was putting words to all of these things that she felt," Barbaro said. "On top of his charisma, I think, she just was sort of magnetized to him."
Norton plays Pete Seeger, a banjo player and prominent singer of protest music who mentored Dylan.
"I think a lot of people have lost sight of who these people actually were and what they did and what they sounded like," Norton said. "If we can get some people tuning in again, that's probably worth the whole enterprise."
Chalamet agreed.
Dylan is "one of these names that is iconic to my generation," the 28-year-old said. "You know the name, but because he's such an elusive figure and a reclusive figure ... a lot of people my age don't know the music."
"This felt like an opportunity to be a bridge in some way and bring life to this amazing period," he added.