MUMBAI: Are they or are they not? That is the question! At present the participation status of Hollywood studios in the Hindi film producers’ strike is unclear.
The strike is slated to begin from 4 April onwards if a mutual decision is not arrived at prior to that.
A Hollywood studio head in India, who did not wish to be named, says, “I have nothing to do with the local strike, I will release my films.”
Paramount Films’ Fast and Furious will release on 3 April and Monsters V/s Aliens is slated to release on 17 April; Warner Bros’ Nights in Rodanthe is slated to release on 10 April (Bombay) whereas Fox Star Studios’ Dragon Ball on 17 April.
Officials heading the studios like Warner Bros, Paramount Films, Universal, Fox Star Studios, Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios in India either shied away from commenting on the matter or remained unavailable for comment at the time of filing this story.
However, company sources inform Businessofcinema.com that most studios are still neutral towards the issue and are yet to take a firm stand on it. Sony Pictures’ next release in India is Angels and Demons on 15 May, Warner’s next big release is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in July and Disney’s next film Race to Witch Mountain and Bolt are slated to release in April end or May.
Since these companies will not be affected by the strike in the near future, they will not mind supporting the Hindi films producers in the strike. Moreover, they are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon and will not affect their big films slated for summer release.
A source says, “If Hollywood films also benefit by getting an extra revenue share for their film releases in India, then why won’t they participate in the strike?”
An official from studio says on condition of anonymity, “As per the anti-trust law in the US, an American company cannot go on strike. However, since most studios have an Indian counterpart to produce local films, they will take a stand as per their convenience.”
