Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, forever
The Verge ^ | July 13, 2023 | Andrew Webster

Posted on 07/15/2023 1:14:36 PM PDT by Drew68

During today’s press conference in which Hollywood actors confirmed that they were going on strike, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, revealed a proposal from Hollywood studios that sounds ripped right out of a Black Mirror episode.

In a statement about the strike, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said that its proposal included “a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members.”

“If you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

When asked about the proposal during the press conference, Crabtree-Ireland said that “This ‘groundbreaking’ AI proposal that they gave us yesterday, they proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get one day’s pay, and their companies should own that scan, their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation. So if you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

In response, AMPTP spokesperson Scott Rowe sent out a statement denying the claims made during SAG-AFTRA’s press conference. “The claim made today by SAG-AFTRA leadership that the digital replicas of background actors may be used in perpetuity with no consent or compensation is false. In fact, the current AMPTP proposal only permits a company to use the digital replica of a background actor in the motion picture for which the background actor is employed. Any other use requires the background actor’s consent and bargaining for the use, subject to a minimum payment.”

The use of generative AI has been one of the major sticking points in negotiations between the two sides (it’s also a major issue behind the writers strike), and in her opening statement of the press conference, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said that “If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble, we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines.”

The SAG-AFTRA strike will officially commence at midnight tonight.

Disclosure: The Verge’s editorial staff is also unionized with the Writers Guild of America, East.


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: ai; amptp; hollyweird; hollywood; sagaftra; strike
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-98 next last
To: RockyTx

Far, far worse.


21 posted on 07/15/2023 2:27:51 PM PDT by EEGator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Drew68
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said that “If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble, we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines.”

You probably shouldn't let "The Nanny" be the one speaking on your behalf. It sort of detracts from the gravitas of the message you are trying to send.

22 posted on 07/15/2023 2:43:58 PM PDT by pepsi_junkie ("We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. F. B. I. is tending in that direction." - Harry S Truman)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EEGator; al_c; AFreeBird; Albion Wilde; aMorePerfectUnion; A Navy Vet; AnotherUnixGeek; ...
Just FYI, the people running Hollywood, and other studios, are far bigger scum than retarded, vacuous actors and actresses.

I tend to agree. A lot of freepers will react with "a pox on both their houses." I think that's a mistake. The writers and actors are striking against the Borg. I don't want a world in which a handful of global conglomerates completely controls the flow of all information, including cultural products. The streamers overexpanded. They are now talking consolidation. We could end up with six or fewer giants, vertically and horizontally integrated, in complete control and in a position to block out newcomers. And at that point, they will continue to look for synergies -- and I suspect one of the synergies will be a consolidation of DEI functions, with radical perspectives being imposed from the top down as industry standards binding across all platforms and extended downwards to all "partners."

If AI takes over completely, movies and tv shows will simply be computer based animations of scripts. And ChatGPT will write the scripts. The only humans in the loop will be the commissars at the streamers, who will decide what meets their DEI and message curation standards. You know ... the streamer execs who get together from time to time for photo ops around the conference table in the White House when a democrat is in residence. Or around the conference table somewhere else when a democrat is not in the White House, and the purpose of the meeting will be to ensure that the democrats never lose another election. Complete control of the flow of information and cultural messaging is game, set and match.

I want humans in the loop and an information and media ecosystem that allows independent and dissident perspectives an opportunity to reach the market.

I came across this today. I think it's pretty good: 2023 Actors Strike: Everything You Need to Know

The entire podcast is 30 minutes. If that exceeds your tolerance, go to 22:40. At that point, the presenter -- who has been pretty even handed to that point -- candidly admits that "this is where my editorializing begins." And at about 27:30, he hits the Borg directly. It's worth a watch. I've never seen this guy before and can't vouch for his other stuff, but I think he nails the strike issues.

Yes, there's room for criticism all around, but it's important to remember that most of the writers and actors aren't rich. Most of them aren't A-list. And their art form is in considerable danger of being completely automated. Which might not be a problem except that this would mean that the Borg -- they won't name it Minitru, but that's what it will be -- will control all information flows.

cc'ing the movie ping list.

23 posted on 07/15/2023 3:07:47 PM PDT by sphinx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: sphinx

Thanks for the post and link.


24 posted on 07/15/2023 3:13:07 PM PDT by EEGator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

That would kill the casting couch.


25 posted on 07/15/2023 3:15:21 PM PDT by liberalh8ter (Ephesians 6:10 - 18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sphinx
I came across this today. I think it's pretty good: 2023 Actors Strike: Everything You Need to Know

Well said, your whole post.

Bumping this to watch later.

26 posted on 07/15/2023 3:15:53 PM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Drew68
Did the original actor who did the "Wilhelm Scream" get paid every time it was used in a movie or on TV?
27 posted on 07/15/2023 3:17:23 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (Democrats' version of MAGA: Making America the Gulag Archipelago )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: liberalh8ter
That would kill the casting couch.

#MeToo killed the casting couch.

Have you noticed how fugly modern young actresses have become these days?

28 posted on 07/15/2023 3:18:17 PM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

This is absolutely frightening. AI duplicates are already being produced, and the likeness is uncanny. And like many have already said, you can make them do whatever you want them to do, which will include pornography. Simply evil, wicked.


29 posted on 07/15/2023 3:23:57 PM PDT by ducttape45 (Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

“...people are going to want to see actors they recognize.”

You’re looking backwards. Do you think that they cannot conjure up a new virtual star? When people see that new, fake AI star in 20 or 30 films, what keeps that star from being as big as John Wayne, Tom Cruise, or Merrily Monroe?

In 50 or 100 years, nobody will recognize those old real-people stars except in “classic films.” In fact, there will probably come a time when people don’t even want to see real people acting.


30 posted on 07/15/2023 3:26:03 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone else.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

So they could just create new actors that don’t resemble anybody. The genie is out of the bottle and there’s no putting it back in.


31 posted on 07/15/2023 3:27:46 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EEGator

I’m agnostic on some of the strike issues, but I am entirely with the writers and actors on the demand for greater transparency on viewership. The streamers hold those numbers close. One of the problems, however, is that the streamers are ultimately in the business of selling subscriptions, not movies. While they pay lip service to quality, that is like the teachers unions paying lip service to excellence in education. While it’s nice if Dick and Jane learn to read and Tameka and Juwan learn the multiplication tables — no one is actually opposed to that — excellence is way down in about tenth place on the priority list, and it loses the shoving match in every tight corner.


32 posted on 07/15/2023 3:36:55 PM PDT by sphinx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Drew68
I don't know….Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham were pre Harvey Weinstein.
33 posted on 07/15/2023 3:42:43 PM PDT by liberalh8ter (Ephesians 6:10 - 18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: sphinx

“The BORG”...Good Point!


34 posted on 07/15/2023 3:43:47 PM PDT by left that other site (Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

I trust about 0.0000092% of what either side says here.

Yesterday both were saying the other side refused to return to the
Negotiating table.

The writers and actors said the studios want to control their likenesses or
creations, and the studios said protections to prevent this were
Included in their offer.

Strangely enough, life would go on if they ever settled. It might be a lot
better too.


35 posted on 07/15/2023 3:59:41 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance to the flag of the USofA & to the Constitutional REPUBLIC for which it stands.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

> Or a foursome of the Bidens and Obamas

Ah. A horror movie, then.


36 posted on 07/15/2023 4:19:01 PM PDT by Flatus I. Maximus (If Black Lives Matter, explain Chicago. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom

See Rei from William Gibson’s Idoru, 1996.

I can’t stand the bloviated idiocies that come from the present line of other-peoples-words-speakers, so why not virtual stars?

In fact who needs Hollywierd? Compose your own plot and let Generative AI do all the translation to “film.”

These guys are relics squabbling over the last crumbs of their dead industry.


37 posted on 07/15/2023 4:24:06 PM PDT by No.6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom
Heck, the younger generations don't even have the attention span for feature length films anymore. They watch minute-long TikTok videos.

Across multiple posts on several platforms, this woman has racked up hundreds millions of views and is one of the biggest stars on social media. (Click pic for SFW video as she also provides plenty of NSFW content)

Mike Judge said Idiocracy was 500 years away. It happened in less than 20.

38 posted on 07/15/2023 4:36:11 PM PDT by Drew68 (Ron DeSantis for President. A conservative who fights and wins.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Drew68

Movies will become just like music, so formulaic that it will be a disaster. If anybody has seen “Final Fantasy, the Spirits Within” back in 2001, you know how these movies are going to be. At least with real actors and practical effects, there is a measure of unpredictability in the outcome because it doesn’t get done 100% as intended.


39 posted on 07/15/2023 4:46:15 PM PDT by Jonty30 (If liberals were truth tellers, they'd call themselves literals. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sphinx

AI is only as good as the human running it.


40 posted on 07/15/2023 4:55:18 PM PDT by yldstrk (Bingo! We have a winner!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-98 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson