Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are using a new web site to show how the ongoing writers’ strike impacts them. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Keitel, Martin Sheen, William H. Macy, Chazz Palminteri and Ed Asner, along with cast members from “Desperate Housewives” and “Ugly Betty,” can all be seen doing next to nothing in the online spots. 

Writer Alan Sereboff and documentary filmmaker George Hickenlooper created the Web site, Speechless Without Writers, to show the public how important words are to Hollywood.

Hickenlooper told The Guardian:

“I was on the picket line and I was surrounded by this incredible talent. I was thinking there’s got to be a way to use the Internet, the very medium we are struggling over, to express our position. Why not use that talent in our celebrity-obsessed culture? This is the first time in Hollywood history that A-list acting talent has taken its work straight to the Internet. It’s a very powerful statement.”

Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, Charlize Theron, Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman also are expected to appear in spots supporting the writers. 

In one clip on the website, actor Sean Penn speaks to the camera and while his words may be inaudible, the message is loud and clear. 

The Writers Guild of America walkout began on November 5th.  Check out United Hollywood, an up-to-date blog written by a group of strike captains, who are both writers and non-writers alike. Also, check out the FAQ page, which answers a lot of questions about the strike.

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