Striking actors given strict Halloween costume rules

Every Halloween, celebrities love to show off their elaborate costumes, often based on hit TV shows and films.

But this year, things will look a little different after actors were warned that dressing as characters from major shows and movies would break the rules of the ongoing Hollywood strike.

So outfits based on Barbie, Wednesday Addams and film superheroes are banned.

Wearing such costumes would promote content made by the studios the actors are in dispute with, their union said.

"Choose costumes inspired by generalised characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider etc)," Sag-Aftra advised its members.

Or actors could dress as characters from content that does not fall under the strike rules, "like an animated TV show", the union suggested.

"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!"

He added: "She's not in the union but she needs to learn."

The Sag-Aftra advice comes as the actors' strike, which prevents union members from doing any work for major US studios, approaches the 100-day mark.

Most production has been on hold since it began, with the two sides failing to agree a deal over demands including increased pay, a share of streaming revenues, and protection against actors' images and voices being replicated by artificial intelligence.

The latest talks broke down last week, with studios saying the negotiations were "no longer moving us in a positive direction".

A similar strike by scriptwriters was resolved last month.