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Nanny knows best

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I'm not quite sure what to make of the actors guild going on strike.  Are they really doing this in support of writers, who went on strike in May, or worried about their own futures in what will soon become an AI dominated industry?  Of course the studio CEOs are no better.  Disney boss Bob Iger complaining that the Marvel product has become diluted with all the movies and spinoff television series is rich, considering his studio bought Marvel and diluted the product hoping to squeeze as much money as they can from it.  

Years ago when I was living in DC I had the opportunity to attend an event in which Julie Dash talked about her film Daughters of the Dust.  It took her years to make the film as she produced it independently.  However, much of her talk was about how black artists had to take on Hollywood from the inside.  I asked wouldn't it be better and perhaps more easy to make an alternative to Hollywood as you did in this film?  How is anything going to change if Hollywood dominates the industry?  she shot back.  Maybe so, I said, but you really think you are going to change Hollywood?

Of course answering questions with questions isn't the best approach but here we are 30 years later and nothing has changed.  Hollywood is still Hollywood despite having become more diverse.  It sucks up independent talents like Taika Waititi, Chloe Zhao and Greta Gerwig and has them make Marvel and Barbie movies.  The temptation is great as these former independent filmmakers get fabulous paychecks for their efforts.  I could understand it if they produced more independent films with their newfound revenue, but instead they get absorbed into the glamour that surrounds Hollywood.  Fran was spending time with Kim Kardishian in Italy before issuing the general strike.

There are very few successful independent writers and actors, which is why I suppose they sell their soul to Hollywood as Barton Fink did in the Coen Brothers' cinematic gem.  A film underwritten by 20th Century Studios.  There are a handful of directors and actors who can get away with almost anything in Hollywood.  

Not Jim Jarmusch, who had an infamous run-in with Miramax in the 90s.  Weinstein was Hollywood's hottest mogul at the time, introducing the world to Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino and other rising stars, but he was also known as Harvey Scissorhands for the cuts and alterations he demanded in these films.  No film was immune until Jarmusch came along.  He had written into his contract that he had final say on his film and held his ground much to the chagrin of an apoplectic Weinstein who had Johnny Depp cast in the movie.  You can't kill off your lead actor!  But that was the beauty of the film, not to mention the title.  So, Harvey made sure the film got a very minimal release, denying Jarmusch much if any revenue from it.  Years later when Dead Man became a cult classic, Weinstein tried to take credit for it, much to Jarmusch's disgust.

This is one of the rare examples of a director standing up to Hollywood and one would think a role model to others.  Yet, few others have followed in his footsteps even though Jarmusch became an independent darling.

I appreciate the fact these writers and actors (directors have yet to join the strike) think they can change Hollywood but they won't.  The only alternative remains to create an independent film industry, one not bound to the conventions of Tinseltown, which is only looking at the bottom line.  Let them produce their endless Marvel, Avatar and Star Wars movies.  Do something better, something more rewarding, and find independent distributors to show the films around the world.  It may not be as much money but it certainly will be much more appealing.  A huge walkout would truly rock Hollywood!

That won't happen.  Hollywood execs will reach some sort of agreement and all these actors and writers will come crawling back as they are too much wrapped up in the glamorous lifestyles.  The actors anyway.  Not much you can afford on an average annual salary of $65,000 as a screenwriter.  It's not like directors and actors stick to the script anyway.  Directors often alter scenes and actors adlib lines during production, leaving most writers with little more than a credit in the end.  It's a bit of a stretch to call screenwriting the backbone of the industry.  That said there are a few high profile screenwriters who can command millions for their scripts, but you tell me if they were worth it?

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