Is a strike similar to that in Hollywood to be considered in France? This Monday, May 13, on the eve of the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, The Parisian unveiled a forum in which 7,000 French artists and performers demand better remuneration from streaming platforms. Among the signatories of this open letter launched at the initiative of Adami, which manages the rights of actors and musicians for the distribution of their recorded work, we find big names in French cinema, as well as musicians. Karin Viard, Catherine Frot, Agnès Jaoui, Pomme, and even Alain Chamfort, all decided to raise their voices.
The text recalls that a law dating from May 12, 2021 provided “appropriate and proportional remuneration” to the success of the work on the platforms. But for three years, “no agreement has emerged, leaving the actresses and actors in complete anticipation”. The forum also emphasizes that “regardless of the duration of viewing availability and the number of streams” that the work generates, “actresses and actors receive a meager and unique package, determined from the start”. So, even if the series or film is immensely successful on the platform, “no additional euro will be paid to those” which play on the screen.
⋙ Cannes Film Festival: these French stars have already been members of the jury
Strike in Hollywood: why is it important?
As early as July 13, many Hollywood actors announced that they were joining the screenwriters’ strike that began two months earlier. An unprecedented movement that the world of cinema had not seen for 60 years. Among the personalities to have supported this movement, we found in particular Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Ben Stiller and Margot Robbie. Everyone demanded a revaluation of their remuneration “residuals”, which arise from each rebroadcast of a film or series and which had fallen due to the advent of streaming. Actors and screenwriters, fearing being replaced by artificial intelligence, therefore demanded guarantees against the cloning of their voice and image without their consent. They also protested against “self-recorded auditions”.
Photo credits: DOMINIQUE JACOVIDES / RINDOFF-BORDE / COADIC GUIREC / BESTIMAGE