Tom Hanks Calls Out the AMPTP
Posted by Michelle Graham (michelle@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 11, 2008
Finally, an A-lister with guts! After months of delays, no movement on negotiations, television series and movies dying a death languishing in the dark without scripts, and with one awards show already dead in the water, an A-list actor has broken the solidarity barrier and spoken out against the AMPTP tactic of “wait em out”.
Tom Hanks has given an interview to Reuters, speaking out against the AMPTP and warning networks and studios that unless they get back to the negotiating table and start working through the marital problems with the WGA, the Oscars will go the way of the Golden Globes. Hanks, a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), has stated that he doesn’t want the Oscars to go down in flames (though with a possible nominee in the running in the shape of Charlie Wilson’s War, that’s not surprising), and that this strike is hurting far more people than just the writers and the bigwigs.
“There are caterers and carpenters … and electricians and gaffers,” the 51-year-old actor said. “There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better … I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions up high in their corporate boardrooms and what not get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work.”
Maybe the AMPTP will listen to the voice of reason, even if it doesn’t speak in the Gump-meter, and realise that the sooner it gets back to the negotiation table, the sooner it can stop losing money and start raking in the cash again. The loss of the Golden Globes has hit the networks hard, with NBC forced to return advertising payments, so it’s possible that soon the AMPTP will be feeling pressure not only from those in front and behind the camera, but also the people who own them.
Talking Point: Do you think Tom Hanks speaking out will help the AMPTP see the light?
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