[ad_1]
British film-maker Ken Loach has told Sky News he welcomes an end to the US writers’ strike, describing one of the issues facing the industry as “monstrous”.
A tentative agreement has been reached between union the Writers Guild of America and the studios, following months of strike action in a row over pay and the use of artificial intelligence (though the actors who are also on strike haven’t yet reached an agreement).
Speaking at the premiere in London’s Leicester Square of his new film The Old Oak – which isn’t a struck work – Loach says the developments in technology pose a real threat.
“I think the dangers that writers face in artificial intelligence are monstrous,” he said.
“And the same for actors where their images are stolen, so I’m very pleased to see that [the writers] can take action to defend their pay and their rights.
“And I’m pleased to see that writers seem to have maybe got a decent result – but it’s also important that they stay with the actors so that they don’t get bought off one by one.”
While Loach’s film hasn’t been impacted by the strikes, many British productions have.
The impact of the walkouts is being felt here, with films and TV shows on pause, leaving thousands out of work.
“I think the problem is that we depend on the Americans,” said Loach.
“We need an independent British film industry and that needs support, and it can get support by quotas for one thing, so that there has to be a proportion of really British films – not the kind of films that have got a British logo but are really tourist versions of Britain for the American market.
“We need a really independent British film industry, I mean the French have a good one and so we can learn from them, learn how they protect their industry.
“And we need to welcome the world’s cinema into cinemas,…
[ad_2]
