Cannes: The jury head and members of the prestigious international Cannes Film Festival have expressed solidarity with the screenwriters' strike in Hollywood. The statement comes ahead of the opening ceremony of the 12-day event.
"I think it's great that people have a strong collegial feeling so you can go out and have a strike. Taking such action is how you can change the conditions of your profession. I am definitely, yeah... go!" said Ruben Ostlund, jury head and two-time Palme d'Or winner.
One of the eight members, US actor-director Paul Dano, is married to Zoe Kazan, an actress and screenwriter. He also supported the strike and said his wife is currently picketing with their six-month-old child strapped to her chest. He added that he will be joining her once he goes back to the US.
Writer's strike in Hollywood started on May 3 after negotiations regarding better compensation between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major US studios and streaming services failed. Thousands of writers are protesting after their livelihood has seen a decline in the age of streaming. Top executives close to the discussion said that the strike could continue into the summer and possibly beyond, reported Reuters.
Public support is also on the writers' side and a plane even appeared above Hollywood carrying a message reading "pay the writers you ai-h***s".
The strike has already caused significant disruptions in the industry in just three weeks. Many scripted TV shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live are facing production delays. While studios can shoot the projects they already have a full script for, there will not be a writer standing by to do production rewrites. Going ahead with the writer to rework the scenes or dialogues is a risky step.
The strike was initially about better wages and working conditions but now the threat posed by AI has also entered the discussions. The industry's approach to AI has not been in favour of writers' favour.
A former entertainment lawyer and journalist Jonathan Handel told Vulture that AI is not the biggest issue now but it is figuring into the conversation more than expected. Writers are dissatisfied with the answers studios are giving about how this technology will fit into the economics of the film industry. They are also worried that the 2007 incident of making promises of reevaluating at a certain time but not adjusting the formulas will repeat.