MONTREAL - Screenwriters from countries around the globe will participate in an international day of solidarity on Nov. 28 to support their striking Hollywood counterparts.
Writers will demonstrate in Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Britain, Mexico and France.
"Their fight is our fight,'' Rebecca Schechter, president of the Writers Guild of Canada, said in a news release. "Screenwriters around the world are entitled to receive their fair share of revenues from the Internet, and that is what our American colleagues are fighting for.''
Screenwriters were in Montreal on Thursday for the annual meeting of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, and they pledged to take action in support of the Writers Guild of America strike against multinational media conglomerates.
"The future of our industry is shifting toward new media. Writers have always had to fight for a small share of the revenues generated from their work, and this case is no different,'' said Katharine Way, chairwoman of the Writers Guild of Great Britain.
Audrey O'Reilly of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild added that screenwriters in other countries would not take work away from their American counterparts.
"Our solidarity means that no self-respecting screenwriter in any country will undermine the U.S. strike. The overwhelming majority of our members will never take work from striking American colleagues, because the fight now taking place in the U.S. is a fight for screenwriters across the globe.''
The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds is a worldwide body representing guilds of professional screenwriters.
