Protests disrupt London Film Festival in cinema wage dispute
(Reuters) Protesters chanted and waved banners at the opening of the BFI London Film Festival as a long-running staff pay dispute with a cinema chain spilled over into red carpet territory.
Around 50 staff of London’s Picturehouse cinemas, owned by Cineworld, have been demanding their pay be brought in line with the 9.75 pounds ($12.85) per hour recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, a campaigning group.
British Hollywood actor Andrew Garfield, known for playing Spider-Man in the Marvel film franchise, spoke out in support of the protesters in a red carpet comment to reporters on Wednesday evening.
“I‘m very, very happy and I wish I could go and bang a drum,” he said.
“They are protesting for a living wage. They are protesting for basic human rights. They are protesting for full and rich lives, and they’re not getting paid enough to create that for themselves,” he said.
Strikes and demonstrations are set to continue throughout the star-studded 12-day film festival, organizing officials from the Bectu media and entertainment union told Reuters.
Ushers will stage walkouts during screenings held at Picturehouse cinemas, and picket lines will call on festival-goers to boycott venues owned by the company.
The wage dispute has been going on for many months, with the cinema chain, known for showing indie and foreign-language films, saying it already pays the London living wage if breaks are taken into account.
“We’re one of the few cinema companies who choose to pay for breaks,” Picturehouse cinemas said in a statement.
“After legal advice, we believe the current strikes would be unlawful and have informed Bectu of our view,” it added.
Julia Roberts reinforced her status as a Hollywood icon on The Late Late Show with James Corden on Wednesday night, acting out her entire career in less than 10 minutes.
The actress and late night host made their way through 26 of her most memorable films, changing up wigs, costumes and accents to reenact snippets of everything from Hook and Mystic Pizza to more recent films like Mother’s Day.
Starting with “Notting Hill,” the duo then raced through moments from Mona Lisa Smile, Larry Crowne, Runaway Bride, Steel Magnolias, Charlie Wilson’s War, Mystic Pizza, America’s Sweethearts, Eat Pray Love, Closer, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Stepmom, Flatliners, Mirror Mirror, Hook, Charlotte’s Web, Erin Brockovich, The Pelican Brief, Sleeping with the Enemy, Mary Reilly, Ocean’s 11 & 12, Pretty Woman and her latest film Wonder before bringing it home by singing I Say a Little Prayer from My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Standout moments included the infamous “Pretty Woman” scene where Vivian gets sweet revenge on a nasty shopgirl, the Drink the juice, Shelby scene from Steel Magnolias and her I’m just a girl... speech in Notting Hill.
(toofab.com)