Veteran filmmaker Paul Feig donated $100,000 to the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Community Care Fund, TheWrap has learned. The money will help Southern California members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) as the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA labor strikes against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have created financial challenges for below-the-line workers.
The writers have been on strike since May 2. The actors joined them on the picket line July 14. This rare dual action has mostly brought Tinseltown to a standstill, and, as Feig told TheWrap, it’s a time when striking laborers and the Hollywood community at large should be looking out for “those caught in the crossfire.”
“As filmmakers and storytellers, we are nothing without our crews and all of the support personnel who make it possible for us to create our movies and series,” Feig said. “As an industry, we must support those who are caught in the crossfire of this double strike. I hope that any and all producers, directors and others of means will donate to show their support and appreciation of our talented and dedicated production partners.”
The “Bridesmaids” filmmaker’s six-figure donation comes weeks after MPTF president and CEO Bob Beitcher released an open letter to the industry asking for greater support for below-the-line workers caught up in the ongoing standoff.
In the letter, Beitcher stated, “Members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have been very generous in stepping up to support their own members, but as a community, we are not doing enough to support the tens of thousands of crew members and others who live paycheck to paycheck and depend on this industry for their livelihood. They have become the forgotten casualties during these strikes, overlooked by the media. Let’s face it, actors and writers make better subjects for strike stories; and now crew members are not getting the philanthropic support they’ve earned and deserve.”
Meanwhile, there’s a fundraiser, The Give Back-ular, set for Oct. 25 at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theater. The event will further benefit workers during this near-unprecedented moment in showbiz history. It will be organized in partnership with the Union Solidarity Coalition. Marta Kauffman, Paul McCrane and Paul Scheer will serve as cohosts.
Feig’s most recent film was Netflix’s YA fantasy “The School for Good and Evil.” He currently serves as an executive producer on Starz’s “Minx.”
For more of TheWrap’s Hollywood strike coverage, click here.
