Last month, the Croisette, the glamorous boulevard that serves as the central artery of Cannes, was a maze of construction that made it nearly unnavigable in places. Thin wire barriers were the only things separating the sun-speckled tourists and shoppers from gaping holes that exposed a warren of underground pipes being labored over by government crews.
Some industry veterans think that a strike may raise prices on finished films or completed scripts because studios and streamers still need to make and release movies, even if writers continue to hold out for a better deal. “A slowdown in production may make companies more aggressive and give them more of an appetite for the films that we’re making, if there’s a gap in their content pipeline,” says John Friedberg, president of Black Bear Intl.
That’s making some indie buyers reticent about shelling out for movies that are available to purchase at Cannes. “U.S. domestic distributors are suffering,” says Pia Patatian, president of worldwide sales at Arclight Films. “They’re not buying as much as they used to. At a market like Berlin, they’d buy maybe 10 or 15 films, and now they’ve reduced it to less than five.”
“It improves the economics,” says Scott Shooman, the interim head of IFC Films and the studio’s head of acquisitions. “It raises awareness and sparks more discussion and creates more value in those ancillary markets.”