“For 25 years I’ve provided for my family off the backs of the creativity of writers.”
Amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike, Irish actor Colin Farrell arrived at the Times Square rally in New York to show his support for the Writers Guild of America members and have his say on the current situation.
The Penguin star, whose HBO show briefly halted production amid the strikes, shared some strong words about the state of the current negotiations and pointed to the “arrogance of those at the top” as a reason for the strikes continuing for so long.
“The future going forward as the corporations get wealthier and wealthier is more questionable and more uncertain for writers and its not right, it’s not fair. So we’re here to just lend our support and it’s time to get back to the table. We know a deal is going to get done so just cut it out and get back to the table.”
The 46-year-old, who spoke alongside fellow actor Michael Kelly (House of Cards), discussed the impact that writers have had on his career.
“For 25 years I’ve provided for my family off the backs of the creativity of writers. There are no corporations without the revenue that writers give the possibility to make.
“The business is changing, writers need to be fairly compensated for the beauty of what they do.”
“For 25 years I’ve made a living and provided for my family off the backs of the creativity of writers… it’s unfair what’s going on… they are the genesis of all that we do” – Colin Farrell says alongside Michael Kelly at the Times Square rally today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/0fCGR4cAuE
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 25, 2023
The WGA strikes are in their fourth week.
The union representing roughly 11,500 writers from across film, television, and more went on strike on Tuesday, May 2
Among the demands from the strikers include streaming residuals payment, writer’s rooms to be increased and safeguards to be put in place against the threat of AI on the future of writing.
In a separate interview during the rally, Farrell continued: “The majority of writers are not able to make the living they need to make to provide for their families. It’s about a fundamental change that needs to happen.
Colin Farrell speaks at the WGA picket line: “It’s a testament to the arrogance of those at the top that these people are now out of work because they are doing the right thing.” https://t.co/WLAhBc0cqZ pic.twitter.com/zEqKpB9NnM
— Variety (@Variety) May 25, 2023
“We know it will happen. There’s a stare down going on, it’s so fucking boring. It’s a testament to the arrogance of those at the top that these people are now out of work because they are doing the right thing.”
More and more actors are showing their support for writers during the strikes, piling more pressure on corporations like Disney and Netflix to come back to the negotiating table.
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- Explained: Hollywood writers strike for the first time in 15 years
- 6 huge shows and one huge movie affected by the Hollywood writers strike
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