Venice jury president Damien Chazelle
Support for Hollywood Strike
Damien Chazelle with his strike t-shirt in Venice.
© imago images/Avalon.red
Venice jury president Damien Chazelle showed his support for the Hollywood strike with a T-shirt and a speech.
The Venice Film Festival started this Wednesday (August 30th). The jury president of this year’s film festival is the maker of “La La Land” and “Babylon”. Damien Chazelle (38). At the first press conference, the director and screenwriter showed his solidarity with the ongoing double strike of writers and actors in Hollywood by wearing a T-shirt with the inscription “Writers Guild on Strike” (Writers Guild of America is the writers’ union) .
Second, he explained according to “Variety” in a statement: “I think there’s an underlying idea that every work of art has value in itself, that it’s not just a piece of content – to use Hollywood’s favorite word – put into a pipeline. And I think “This fundamental idea of how art is made and how art can be made sustainable for the people who make it has been pretty much undermined in the last decade.” There are many issues in the strikes, but for him this is the core issue. “It’s really about the idea that people are compensated for every piece of art they make, and whether we can find a way to maintain and bring back that idea – art over content.”
Fewer stars at the Lido
Chazelle continued, “I think we’re just here to acknowledge that this fight continues, and that’s why a lot of people who would otherwise have loved to be at this festival can’t be here.” It’s obviously a difficult time in Hollywood, especially for working writers, actors, but also for the crew. “Everyone is affected by the current world situation. I just wanted to find a way to take that into account as we celebrate the art of cinema here.” Due to the strike by the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, significantly fewer prominent actors from US productions are expected at the Lido.
The 80th Venice Film Festival ends on September 9th. A total of 23 titles will compete for the “Golden Lion” main prize. These include “Priscilla” by “Lost in Translation” filmmaker Sofia Coppola (52).