Iconoclastic cinematographer
says that last week’s death of a “
” crew member
was due to criminal negligence.
“It’s a tragedy,” he told
Variety
. “She should not have died. It upsets me.”
Wexler, who won Oscars for “Bound for Glory” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” said that the crews are being asked to work too many hours despite efforts to limit the workday to 12 hours.
“People can learn from this terrible injury,” he added.
Wexler also released an open letter Wednesday to “fellow workers” which said that he’s part of a group asking that Jones’ name be included in the Academy’s “In Memoriam” section this Sunday.
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“Sarah and the three injured crew members were not victims of an ‘accident’ but of criminal negligence. Something that would not have happened if proper safety rules were in place,” the letter said.
Wexler also included in the letter a copy of an ad rejected by his union’s International Cinematographers Guild magazine with the title “Take a Stand in the fight against long hours” as part of the “12 on 12 off” campaign — an issue that Wexler has advocated for nearly two decades. He said that the magazine does not want to deal with what he dubbed a “political football.”
“Employers will work you longer for less money and under questionable safety conditions because it is their duty to prioritize the bottom line,” he said. “As individuals we cannot complain. That’s why we need a Union to speak for us, certainly when our safety, our health, and our very lives are at stake! Since they’ve abdicated that responsibility, please join us at 12on12off.”
Wexler’s self-financed documentary “Who Needs Sleep?” bowed to strong reviews at Sundance in 2006. The issue became a cause in 1997, when 35-year-old crew member Brent Hershman died in a car crash after working a 19-hour day on “Pleasantville.”
That pic’s crew called for a 14-hour limit to workdays, dubbed “Brent’s Rule,” but found only limited success.
Wexler spent eight years on his doc, interviewing doctors and scientists who study sleep deprivation. “Who Needs Sleep?” also includes interviews with Julia Roberts, Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, John Sayles, Sam Mendes, Billy Crystal, Annette Bening, Vittorio Storaro and the late Richard Zanuck.
Jones was a member of the Intl. Cinematographers Guild, which operates as Local 600 of the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Wexler has battled the local’s leadership frequently.
2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC