CANNES, France — Sean Penn strongly backed the present Hollywood screenwriters strike whereas talking on the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over synthetic intelligence is “a human obscenity.”
Penn addressed the continuing Writers Guild of America strike in a press convention for his new movie, “Black Flies,” director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked concerning the strike, Penn mentioned “the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time.”
“There’s a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of AI It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers,” mentioned Penn, a veteran writer-director along with being an actor.
Film and TV screenwriters earlier this month started placing after talks with producers broke off. The WGA is looking for higher pay, new contracts for the streaming period and safeguards towards using AI-scripted work-arounds.
“The first thing we should do in these conversations is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the Bankers Guild,” added Penn. “It’s difficult for so many writers and so many people industry-wide to not be able to work at this time. I guess it’s going to soul-search itself and see what side toughs it out.”
After the press convention, Penn mentioned in a press release that he meant to consult with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of producers, not the Producers Guild of America.
Penn’s feedback come because the potential for a wider work stoppage in Hollywood could also be rising. The Directors Guild can also be negotiating a brand new contract with producers. The board of SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, this week voted to ask members for strike authorization because it prepares to enter negotiations for a brand new contract.
In Cannes, the strike been an everyday matter for American stars, filmmakers and producers. On Thursday, Ethan Hawke wore a shirt that learn “Pencils Down.” On the competition’s opening day Tuesday, juror Paul Dano mentioned he deliberate to affix his spouse, Zoe Kazan, on the picket strains quickly.
“My wife is currently picketing with my 6-month-old, strapped to her chest,” mentioned Dano. “I will be there on the picket line when I get back home.”
At the press convention Friday for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy, one of many prime movie producers, mentioned “most people are in full support of the writers getting what they deserve.”
“The meta issue here is how that it’s being impacted by an industry that’s really changing, that is in the midst of change, both technologically and just basic aspects of how we work,” Kennedy mentioned. “That’s going to take time. That’s what everyone is getting ready for.”
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