Put away those Barbie, Spider-Man costumes

Hollywood's ongoing actors' strike has already brought the US entertainment industry to a halt - and now it is coming for the nation's favourite spooky holiday too.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) this week advised its 160,000 members to avoid dressing as characters tied to the studios it is currently striking against. That rules out everything from Warner Bros' Barbie to Disney's Marvel superheroes and Netflix's Stranger Things.

A post entitled "Make Halloween a SCREAM with these SAG-AFTRA Strike-Friendly Tips & Tricks" suggested members instead dress as "generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc)." Alternatively, actors can still create costumes based on characters from animated TV shows, which are not part of the current strike.

"Let's use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract!" said the post.

SAG-AFTRA members walked off film and TV sets in July, over terms including pay and the use of artificial intelligence. The strike is now approaching its 100th day, and a series of high-level talks abruptly collapsed in acrimonious fashion last week. Studios only recently resolved a separate strike by Hollywood writers that lasted nearly 150 days.

With Halloween seemingly becoming the latest front in the battle between actors and studios, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds saw the funny side. "I look forward to screaming 'scab' at my 8-year-old all night," he wrote on social media. "She's not in the union but she needs to learn." REUTERS.