When asked this week about the likelihood of a damaging strike by screen writers, Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company and one of Hollywood’s most colourful personalities, invoked the spirit of a man who used to rule the entertainment industry with an iron fist.

“We need the ghost of Lew Wasserman to sort this out,” Mr Weinstein said, referring to the legendary founder of MCA Universal. The late Mr Wasserman, perhaps Hollywood’s most powerful mogul, ensured industrial action was kept to a minimum through a combination of charm and hard bargaining.