Will Smith is saddened by the two-month-old strike by Hollywood writers but says that it was needed to create discussion within the industry.

Both writers and the studios they work for say the dispute is focused on compensation for programs and movies that are streamed or downloaded over the Internet. The strike reduced Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards to a no-frills, one-hour presentation from the normally glamorous affair.

“The (strike) has to happen so we can discuss all of this,” said Smith, in Brazil this week to promote his latest blockbuster, “I Am Legend.”

The G1 website quotes Smith lamenting the scaled back Golden Globes Awards show.

“We think it’s just a TV show, but there are hundreds of people hired to work on that show who could feed their families for two months with the money they would have made in the event.”

Smith, a two-time Oscar nominee known for the “Men in Black” movies, said a new era of technology prompted changes that the industry was not prepared to address.

“We need to create a fair situation,” he said, according to the Terra website. “We have to solve this quickly. I’m optimistic.”

Smith praised Alice Braga, the Brazilian co-star of “I Am Legend,” as “so authentic that you believe everything she says.”
Source: The Canadian Press