Mumbai, Feb 15: Veteran screenwriter Chris Keyser, who played an instrumental role during the writers’ strike in Hollywood in 2023, believes achieving real change is a long process, and requires workers to first trust one another and believe in their own strength.
Keyser participated in a special session at the Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC) with acclaimed writer Anjum Rajabali. The 7th edition of the conference began on Friday.
The American screenwriter shared his thoughts on the rights of the writers and the critical importance of collective bargaining.
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“I understand that I’m coming from a different industry, we have different rights, we have many different issues although many of them overlap, and I don’t presume to understand but… I’m saying that the process of actually framing your power is long and arduous. It begins with trusting each other and believing in yourself,” Keyser said.
The writer, whose credits include the Golden Globe-winning drama “Party of Five”, and “The Society”, said the learning from the 148-day-long strike was to “never stop talking, never stop expressing how you feel”.
“We all learnt from each other and were like a family. A strike is not about sitting at home and complaining, it’s about being on the streets fighting for what’s right,” Keyser added.
During the Writers Guild of American (WGA) strike, Keyser was a key negotiator and spokesperson for the guild. He highlighted the concerns of writers regarding fair wages, streaming residuals and AI regulations.
Rajabali, SWA Executive Committee member, talked about the critical difference in how writer compensation is structured in Hollywood versus India.
“We call it royalties here when a writer’s work is shown outside the cinema hall. A law has been made for it, and a new copyright society has been established. But in Hollywood, these negotiations happen within the union itself. “They call it residuals—whenever a writer’s work is shown on television, streaming platforms, or anywhere outside the original release, they receive a share from that,” said Rajabali, known for penning films like “Pukar”, “The Legend of Bhagat Singh”, “Rajneeti” and “Toofan”.
“The union ensured that even writers of successful shows in the past agreed to forego some immediate gains so that the tradition of residuals would continue for future generations. Initially, they endured losses, but that’s how a system was built,” the Indian writer said.
The three-day conference will bring together some of the brightest and most influential minds in the Indian film industry to engage with budding writers. (PTI)
