Charlie Kaufman slams “disgusting” Hollywood studios
be John Malkovich Author Charlie Kaufman offered an insight into the current Hollywood system during a talk at the Sarajevo Film Festival this week.
Kaufman, who was accepting a lifetime achievement award, wore a WGA-branded ‘Strike’ T-shirt to the Bosnian festival.
During a masterclass on Friday (18 August), the screenwriter delivered a scathing diatribe against the major film studios.
“Currently, garbage is the only thing you can make money from. It’s just fascinating. “It makes a fortune, and that’s the bottom line,” Kaufman said loudly deadlineThis is Zac Ntim.
“It’s very tempting for the studios, but also for the people who get involved and become the creators of this crap, especially when they’re being credited for the crap because they don’t have to look inward or think long about what they’re doing .” ”
The Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind The author told the audience that the Writers’ Guild’s “AI problem” is expanded by the fact that “writers have been trained to eat and also to trash.”
“As long as they’re in this space and they’re doing this shit, you might as well let the AI do it,” Kaufman said.
Charlie Kaufman, writer and director
(© Shooting Star / eyevine)
In a separate interview with diversity At the festival, Kaufman condemned studio bosses for cashing in on underpaid creatives. “It’s disgusting because they don’t do anything,” he said.
“No, they do harm, that’s what they do. They harm the art form. And by doing so, they harm humanity. And if for them it’s all about the bottom line and saving money, then there’s nothing left for the art form.”
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He continued: “[Studio heads] do not initiate nice work by their presence. They kind of do the opposite of that. And I think that shows in what Hollywood produces and that the more expensive a film is, the less cultural value it has.”
It’s been a month since the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined striking WGA members in demanding fairer pay.
It’s the first time in 60 years that both film actors and writers have walked out at the same time, leading to a virtual shutdown of Hollywood.
As part of the strike action, SAG-AFTRA have approved some “truly independent” productions with waivers allowing them to continue production.
The decision proved controversial as many people felt the exceptions would endanger the rest of the striking workers.
The union has approved more than 200 independent projects to continue filming during the strike, including actors such as Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, Jason Bateman and Matthew McConaughey.
A full list of all projects granted immunity under interim agreements can be found here.