Striking Actors Reject Hollywood Studios 'Best And Final Offer' Over AI 'Zombie Clause'
Striking actors reject Hollywood studios 'best and final offer' on their latest labor agreement pitch. The studios made this "last, best, and final offer" over the weekend, and the top execs made it clear that they would not give in any further.
Author:Hajra ShannonReviewer:Paula M. GrahamNov 08, 2023886 Shares110.6K Views
Striking actors reject Hollywood studios 'best and final offer'on their latest labor agreement pitch.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said there were still "several essential items" that they couldn't agree on during their talks. These included rules for artificial intelligence.
The studios made this "last, best, and final offer" over the weekend, and the top execs made it clear that they would not give in any further. On Sunday and Monday, SAG-AFTRA looked over the deal.
Striking Actors Reject Hollywood Studios 'Best And Final Offer'
The world's largest labor union for actors and actresses and some of Hollywood's most powerful studios were supposed to start talking again on Tuesday, but union negotiators said they had turned down the studios' "last, best, and final offer," saying that the terms did not protect highly paid actors enough from AI.
People who support the ongoing actors' strikes said that the latest offer included language that would hurt the whole entertainment business. There are still some "essential items" that the two sides haven't agreed on, like the use of AI, according to a message from the actors' union to its members.
The union said that every person on its negotiating group “is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly.” This past Saturday, the union said it had gotten and was now looking over the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers' "Last, Best, and Final Offer."
Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. Discovery are all part of AMPTP. CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers' (AMPTP) "final" offer said that studios and streaming services would have to pay to make AI images that look like highly paid "Schedule F" performers. These performers make more than the minimum for series regulars ($32,000 per TV episode) and feature films ($60,000).
But SAG-AFTRA also wants a rule that says companies must get permission from the estate of a dead actor before using an AI scan of them and pay them for reusing the scan.
David Slack, a TV writer, called the language in the AMPTP's offer the "zombie clause" and said that the studios' offer was "a nightmare scenario" that would play out like an episode of the dystopian show Black Mirror.
Even though it's still not clear when a deal to end the almost four-month strike will be made, the standoff has become more urgent as the two sides try to end it in time to save the rest of the winter TV season.
About 160,000 actors are members of SAG-AFTRA. On July 14, they said they would walk off the job along with the writers who were on strike, in a rare double walkout against the studios. Both groups have pushed for limits on the use of AI, which both actors and writers see as a threat to their jobs.
In early October, members of the Writers Guild of America union agreed to a new deal with Hollywood and TV companies. It promised that AI would not be able to write or rewrite literary works and that writers would be able to see any work that AI created.
Even though everyone was looking forward to a deal, 5,000 SAG-AFTRA members signed an online petition calling for a tough approach in talks leading to a final agreement. They said they would not accept a deal that did not meet the goals set out at the start of the strike.
Final Words
The actors' strike was supposed to end on Monday after film studios made their "last, best, and final" offer to the union over the weekend. However, the strike will continue because the striking actors reject Hollywood studios 'best and final offer' that would let studios use AI scans of dead actors without the union's or the actor's estate's permission.
Hajra Shannon
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
Latest Articles
Popular Articles