James Cameron, Martin Scorsese & other directors appeal to congress to help cinemas

Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, and dozens of other famous filmmakers have called for United States politicians to aid movie theatres struck by the Covid-19 crisis.

People has reported that a group of directors, producers, and executives at the National Association of Theater Owners, the Directors Guild of America and the Motion Picture Association have co-signed a letter to Washington D.C. appealing for financial help for the industry.

Telling leaders: "The moviegoing experience is central to American life. 268 million people in North America went to the movies last year to laugh, cry, dream, and be moved together," the letter asserts that theatres are "great unifiers", that without funding “may not survive the impact of the pandemic”.

Addressed to both Republican and Democrat members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, the missive has been signed by more than 70 directors, including Judd Apatow, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, Wes Anderson and Ang Lee.

Expressing their concerns, the moviemakers wrote: "Cinemas are an essential industry that represent the best that American talent and creativity have to offer. But now we fear for their future."

They pleaded for Congress to redirect unspent funds from a coronavirus aid bill passed earlier this year, or create a new aid bundle that would support cinemas specifically.

Theatres across the U.S. were forced to close down at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Although some have reopened at reduced capacity, Deadline has reported that 69 per cent of small and mid-sized cinema firms will file for bankruptcy or close permanently without government assistance.