Boston University students and amazing screenwriters snagged a speech by the CEO of Warner Bros. David Zaslav in Boston about the stalled negotiations in the world of movies and TV shows.

Since the beginning of this month, screenwriters in the US have been on strike. Among other things, they are asking for higher compensation due to the increased interest in the series through broadcasting. They also want rules about using artificial intelligence (AI) when creating scripts.

Zaslav came to Boston University to do the so-called commencement speech To give a speech in which a famous person addresses the graduating students. He also received an honorary doctorate.

Zaslav is a former student of the university, but he could not count on a friendly welcome. In front of the venue where the event was held, dozens of protesting writers and other trade unions showed their solidarity. Inside, a large group of students regularly booed Zaslav’s comments during his 20-minute speech.

He even had to stop his speech several times when a large group of students present started shouting “Pay the scriptwriters” in unison.

During his speech, the head of the media conglomerate did not comment on the strike. He later issued a short statement via email to wire services saying that he was proud of his alma mater, that he appreciated the book and hoped that “the strike will soon be resolved in such a way that the book feels its value recognised”.

There is still no agreement between the book and major TV studios and streaming services. The last time there was a strike was in 2007. This strike lasted about 100 days and many popular TV series were halted. It is estimated that this cost the film and television industry more than $2 billion, the equivalent of more than €1.85 billion.

Because of this year’s strike, all of the major night shows have already been halted. First effects also appear in streaming series and TV series. So the creators decided The Handmaid’s Tale and a game of thronesSpinoff to temporarily freeze recordings.