Dan Gilroy is hot off his Emmy win for his work on “Andor”. The “Nightcrawler” and “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” writer/director, and brother of “Andor” showrunner Tony Gilroy, penned the second season’s seventh through ninth episodes.
Those episodes include Mon Mothma’s famous scene in the Senate where she speaks out against Emperor Palpatine and then has to escape for her life. Now, Gilroy has posted an op-ed over at Deadline that ties the themes of his episodes to that of Disney’s suspension of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
Some of the signs of protesters at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, regarding Kimmel being taken off air, notably had messages saying “Did you even watch Andor?” and “This is literally what your show Andor is about”.
Gilroy says in his piece that as writers on “Andor” have “spent six years thinking about a fascist takeover of a galaxy far, far away… about ordinary beings as an authoritarian regime comes in for the kill.” He says:
“The suspension bought time, but not much. Disney now stands at a crossroads: terminate Kimmel’s contract and become pavement for the road to a brave new Trumpian world; or stand for the First Amendment and take the onslaught. There’s not much at stake, just free speech, the oxygen that sustains life in this town.”
He also has a message for Hollywood creatives about not backing down:
“Their goal is to instill fear, to make you feel helpless, hopeless, to break you down. Don’t let them. Educate yourself. Organize. Speak truth to authority. Because the story’s not written – the pen is in your hand.”
The full piece can be read over at Deadline.
