"Young People Starting Out In Film And TV Are Being Screwed To The Ground": Paul Greengrass Sounds Off On State Of Industry

The general advice given to budding filmmakers tends to go along the lines of "go make something!" But there’s little discussion of the hard fiscal realities of moviemaking, even on an independent level. So Paul Greengrass has called on the British film industry to address the creeping financial imbalance that novice filmmakers are presently facing.

"Young people starting out are being screwed to the ground. If you don’t have a rich mum or dad, that’s a problem," Greengrass said. "Our industry is not the plaything of the aristocracy, but there’s no question that being able to be sustained by your parents when starting salaries are luncheon money and contract length is tiny is invaluable. It’s being filled by people with means."

"We’ve got to work harder as an industry to make young people’s route benign," he continued. "It wasn’t that I didn’t have my arse kicked, but I was in a system where you had time to make mistakes and were given space not to conform.”

It’s a powerful statement from the director who was mentored at Granada TV and has undoubtedly witnessed how the industry has changed since. Thoughts? Is this a problem facing American cinema as well? Let us know below. [The Guardian]