Director OLIVER STONE was devastated when his latest movie project PINKVILLE was postponed indefinitely - because it put hundreds of people out of work just before Christmas (07).

The film, which was due to star Bruce Willis and Woody Harrelson, was halted due to the ongoing Hollywood writers strike which has crippled the U.S. film and TV industry since it began in November (07).

And Stone admits he is disappointed the studio, United Artists, decided to drop the picture.

He says, "I had a great script and one of the best casts on any of my films with 40 young actors and Bruce Willis. "It’s a shame they lost faith in the film and that they unemployed 500 people right before Christmas. We were three weeks from shooting."

Numerous projects have fallen victim to the Writer’s Guild of America pay dispute, with production being stopped on Eddie Murphy’s new movie NowhereLand as well as TV shows including 24, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives.