Amblin Partners Production of President Jeb Brody welcomed the tentative writers’ strike deal during an industry panel at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Tuesday but warned that some of the issues that sparked the industrial action in the first place were still swashing around.
“I think a lot of trickiness in the movie business that led to the strike is still with us, and it’s going to be a couple of years I think until they figure it out,” he said, citing tension between streaming and theatrical and as well as malingering questions around how people are remunerated.
He said the strike had impacted everybody, especially on the development front, but added that he felt Hollywood would soon get back up to speed.
“It’s definitely going to be a problem for the next little while but overall, it’s a strong industry and people will bounce back quickly,” he said.
He expressed optimism that SAG-AFTRA would soon also come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in the light of the tentative writers deal
“And I think the actors will come to a solution within the next couple of weeks. That tends to follow in history,” he said.
Brody said he sensed a fresh energy in Hollywood in the light of 146-day strike and Sunday’s announcement.
“It’s been tricky for a couple of years. You have a lot of people in our business who are frustrated, they’re been banging their heads against the wall trying to figure it out. And then suddenly, it’s almost taken away for a couple of months,” he said.
“It feels for the first time in a long time that people are really excited to get back to work and there’s a real feeling of enthusiasm and creativity.”
Brody was talking at a panel exploring ‘Challenges and Opportunities in the Shifting US Landscape’ in San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
He was joined on stage by Neon Director of Acquisitions Sarah Colvin, Focus Features President Production & Acquisitions, Kiska Higgs and Tendo Nagenda, producer at 10 by Ten.
Higgs said she was not at liberty to discuss the strikes publicly given her company is a AMPTP member, while Colvin said that Neon as an independent company had been able to benefit from waivers, which were a good way to support SAG and show there were other options beyond streamers and studios.
