|
The
actors and writers are striking simultaneously for the first
time in 63 years, demanding curbs on the use of artificial
intelligence and higher pay as streaming becomes prevalent.
The stoppage has prevented A-listers from promoting big studio
and streamer movies at this year's Venice Film Festival in
accordance with union guidance, but the stars of small
independent pictures, such as "Ferrari", have been given a pass
to hit the famed Lido red carpet.
"Why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon, like
STX International can meet the dream demands of what SAG (the
Screen Actors Guild) is asking for ... but a big company like
Netflix and Amazon can't?" Driver told reporters.
Representatives for Netflix and Amazon did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Driver has been closely associated with Netflix in the past,
representing two of their films in previous Venice festivals -
"White Noise" in 2022 and "Marriage Story" in 2019.
Writers have been on strike since May while actors walked off
the job in July.
The dual stoppages have shut down both television and movie
productions in Hollywood, but some projects that have no
affiliation to the big studios are receiving waivers to keep on
working if they comply with the most recent union demands.
"Every time people from SAG go and support a movie that has
agreed to these terms, the interim agreement, it just makes it
more obvious that these people are willing to support the people
that they collaborate with and the others are not," said Driver.
Michael Mann, who directed "Ferrari", told reporters that he
managed to complete the movie thanks to sacrifices made by some
of the actors, producers and himself.
"People who worked on 'Ferrari' made it by forgoing large
percentages of their salaries, in the case of Adam and myself.
The producers ... basically worked for no fees," Mann said.
"No big studio wrote us a check. And that's why we're here,
standing in solidarity with both unions."
(Additional reporting by Małgorzata Wojtunik in Venice and Mary
Milliken in Los Angeles; editing by Bill Berkrot)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
