AMPTP's endgame for writers: They should all be homeless
July 12, 2023 11:58 AM Subscribe
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” - California is notoriously expensive to live in and rife with homlessness, writers are notoriously poorly paid and living precariously (and likely to become more soif the WGA's concerns are not addressed), and thus the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has decided its tactic to settle the current writers strike and finally break the WGA: Wait for the writers to be broke and homeless.
They seem to think that the only thing these poorly paid professionals can do is write TV shows. As if they are not used to long stretches of unemployment while they wait for their next gig.
posted by interogative mood at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2023 [18 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2023 [18 favorites]
Michael Tabb, from back in May: “I’ve actually been homeless for four years in between gigs,” he told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday as he walked the picket line in Burbank. “The Writers Guild is protecting me. When I get a guild job, I can support myself. And if I don’t, then I can’t.”
posted by Artw at 12:14 PM on July 12, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:14 PM on July 12, 2023 [19 favorites]
I can't find the direct post to link but over on Tumblr the response is basically "yeah ok dude." Because right now there's still stuff created months ago in the hopper, but it's running out soon, and then it's nothing new to stream. Then you have a bad quarter and that gets CEOs fired.
And a possible SAG strike could still happen.
Anyway the idea is that this is the media companies putting out articles in the trades to lower morale.
posted by emjaybee at 12:18 PM on July 12, 2023 [24 favorites]
And a possible SAG strike could still happen.
Anyway the idea is that this is the media companies putting out articles in the trades to lower morale.
posted by emjaybee at 12:18 PM on July 12, 2023 [24 favorites]
This is pretty much the point in these situations: drag it out to try and force a better agreement for the wealthy.
Someone messed up by saying that part out loud around a reporter.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on July 12, 2023 [16 favorites]
Someone messed up by saying that part out loud around a reporter.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:22 PM on July 12, 2023 [16 favorites]
Yeah I feel like a clever ruse to demoralize would maybe not come in the firm if a supervillain speech that makes everyone hopping mad.
posted by Artw at 12:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
"we’re not trying to starve the writers. please don’t put it in the paper that we said we’re trying to starve the writers"
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 12:35 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 12:35 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
“I think we’re in for a long strike, and they’re going to let it bleed out,” said one industry veteran intimate with the POV of studio CEOs.
“Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention,” says a top-tier producer close to the Carol Lombardini-run AMPTP.
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline.
Since when do so many industry sources mess up by saying the quiet part out loud to a reporter? And if all those industry sources did misspeak, it's awfully considerate of the reporters to grant them all anonymity.....
This strategy may be standard operating procedure, but there's no valor in this reporting. Whoever wrote this article is just doing their part to spread the message that the AMPTP wants everyone to hear.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:35 PM on July 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
“Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention,” says a top-tier producer close to the Carol Lombardini-run AMPTP.
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline.
Since when do so many industry sources mess up by saying the quiet part out loud to a reporter? And if all those industry sources did misspeak, it's awfully considerate of the reporters to grant them all anonymity.....
This strategy may be standard operating procedure, but there's no valor in this reporting. Whoever wrote this article is just doing their part to spread the message that the AMPTP wants everyone to hear.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:35 PM on July 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
But...this is just fundamental to the idea of a strike, no?
posted by kickingtheground at 12:36 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by kickingtheground at 12:36 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
SAG better go out after this. Absolutely unconscionable, and performers are on the same track as writers.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:39 PM on July 12, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:39 PM on July 12, 2023 [20 favorites]
DGA was, predictably, fucking useless.
posted by Artw at 12:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
DGA was, predictably, fucking useless.
My cynical suspicion there is a plurality of DGA members hope to be on the other side of the table someday.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:45 PM on July 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
My cynical suspicion there is a plurality of DGA members hope to be on the other side of the table someday.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 12:45 PM on July 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
The even more cynical thought on the DGA is they are just so high on auteur theory you can buy them off by assuring them they are Very Special.
posted by Artw at 12:54 PM on July 12, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:54 PM on July 12, 2023 [8 favorites]
Things are moving fast on all sides as the SAG-AFTRA extension deadline approaches at midnight Pacific tonight.
All indications are that SAG-AFTRA is going to strike. There are still several key points the two sides are not in agreement on.
The AMPTP is trying to scare SAG-AFTRA (and the WGA) with this statement in order to break their pretty much unprecedented solidarity--nothing more, nothing less.
See this joint statement from the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE (the union for behind-the-scenes production people that aren't writers), the Teamsters (!), and the DGA (!!)
All that said: I finally canceled my subs to streaming services owned by AMPTP members. Fuck them.
posted by rhymedirective at 12:56 PM on July 12, 2023 [27 favorites]
All indications are that SAG-AFTRA is going to strike. There are still several key points the two sides are not in agreement on.
The AMPTP is trying to scare SAG-AFTRA (and the WGA) with this statement in order to break their pretty much unprecedented solidarity--nothing more, nothing less.
See this joint statement from the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE (the union for behind-the-scenes production people that aren't writers), the Teamsters (!), and the DGA (!!)
All that said: I finally canceled my subs to streaming services owned by AMPTP members. Fuck them.
posted by rhymedirective at 12:56 PM on July 12, 2023 [27 favorites]
Whoever wrote this article is just doing their part to spread the message that the AMPTP wants everyone to hear.
It's Deadline - an industry rag - so that's to be expected. The bigger points are why this message now and why October, which are much more interesting questions:
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:01 PM on July 12, 2023 [67 favorites]
It's Deadline - an industry rag - so that's to be expected. The bigger points are why this message now and why October, which are much more interesting questions:
And right on cue, here’s the inevitable Deadline article claiming that the AMPTP and their CEO bosses are ready to wait us out and let us “go broke.”October is when the backlog dries up, and execs start getting asked tough questions. So they want to intimidate the writers before then.
They’re not. They can’t. This studio propaganda, and here’s why.🧵
In the increasingly mega-merged and hedgefundified Hollywood, these companies live or die on their quarterly earnings reports. It only takes one bad quarter for their stock price to plunge, putting the company and the CEO’s job in jeopardy.
But their stock prices are holding steady, right? Right. For now. Because our industry is a pipeline that starts with writers. The TV and movies they’re releasing now are shows we started making for them 4-12 quarters ago. But what happens when that pipeline runs dry?
What happens is they run out of product. No new shows in streaming to drive and sustain subscribers. No new shows in broadcast and ad-supported to bring in ad revenue.
No shows, no money.
No money, bad earnings report.
Bad earnings report, bye-bye stock price. Bye-bye CEO.
After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry.
Their stock price isn’t tanking yet. But if they don’t make a deal with us, it will.
And they know it.
If they make a deal soon, they might be able to weather it. Stretch out releases. Rush some new stuff through.
But the longer they keep us out, the longer that pipeline runs dry, the more unavoidable a catastrophic dip in new high-quality shows becomes.
And they know it.
So yeah, the studios are planting articles in the trades that make it sound like they’re so determined not to pay us the 0.02% of company revenues we’re asking for that they’re willing to hold out forever.
Bullshit.
I’m sure the AMPTP bosses would love to break our union. But they love their jobs more. They love money more. They can’t make that money without us.
And they know it.
Ignore the trades, walk the line, stand together, and win. #WGAStrong
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:01 PM on July 12, 2023 [67 favorites]
I just have so much trouble grappling with the fact that anyone could be this much of an open cartoon villain.
Serious question—what do these fucking CEO ghouls get or hope to get out of prolonging talks while literally hoping that people lose their homes? Writers so desperate that they’ll work for whatever crumbs you throw? Maybe a handful, but it sure seems like there’s a critical mass in this strike for the long haul. More money for themselves immediately? Y’all have more than enough as is. Go buy a shitload of cat food for an animal rescue or donate to cancer research or fund a low-income trans person’s gender affirming care, whatever cause floats your boat. The thrill of wielding power? Maybe work out why you yearn to crush people under the boot like that in therapy, or find a way to act out those fantasies safely with a consenting partner. More long-term profits? There will be no long term profits if you lose all your writers by being cheapass doofuses, those AI trailers floating around now are BLEAK.
I swear to god, no one in any industry remotely understands the idea of long term investment in people paying off anymore. And the more I ask why that is, the more I get the implicit message that I’m a naive weirdo for not just accepting that CEO greed and petty tyranny is the inherent way of the world.
posted by ActionPopulated at 1:05 PM on July 12, 2023 [27 favorites]
Serious question—what do these fucking CEO ghouls get or hope to get out of prolonging talks while literally hoping that people lose their homes? Writers so desperate that they’ll work for whatever crumbs you throw? Maybe a handful, but it sure seems like there’s a critical mass in this strike for the long haul. More money for themselves immediately? Y’all have more than enough as is. Go buy a shitload of cat food for an animal rescue or donate to cancer research or fund a low-income trans person’s gender affirming care, whatever cause floats your boat. The thrill of wielding power? Maybe work out why you yearn to crush people under the boot like that in therapy, or find a way to act out those fantasies safely with a consenting partner. More long-term profits? There will be no long term profits if you lose all your writers by being cheapass doofuses, those AI trailers floating around now are BLEAK.
I swear to god, no one in any industry remotely understands the idea of long term investment in people paying off anymore. And the more I ask why that is, the more I get the implicit message that I’m a naive weirdo for not just accepting that CEO greed and petty tyranny is the inherent way of the world.
posted by ActionPopulated at 1:05 PM on July 12, 2023 [27 favorites]
And AMPTP hurriedly speedbumps the peons as their threat goes over like a lead balloon.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:07 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:07 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Serious question—what do these fucking CEO ghouls get or hope to get out of prolonging talks while literally hoping that people lose their homes?
It’s capitalism, so it’s all about power and control. They’ll lose a lot of money crushing the writers, and damage their industry, but they’ll have more power over whatever remains and that’s the only thing that counts to them.
posted by Artw at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2023 [7 favorites]
It’s capitalism, so it’s all about power and control. They’ll lose a lot of money crushing the writers, and damage their industry, but they’ll have more power over whatever remains and that’s the only thing that counts to them.
posted by Artw at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2023 [7 favorites]
Serious question—what do these fucking CEO ghouls get or hope to get out of prolonging talks while literally hoping that people lose their homes?
Prolonging talks with who? SAG-AFTRA? It's divide and conquer, pure and simple. They want to scare the shit out of SAG-AFTRA as the contract deadline approaches, to get themselves a more favorable deal.
posted by rhymedirective at 1:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Prolonging talks with who? SAG-AFTRA? It's divide and conquer, pure and simple. They want to scare the shit out of SAG-AFTRA as the contract deadline approaches, to get themselves a more favorable deal.
posted by rhymedirective at 1:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
"As of today, any deal we ultimately sign with AMPTP must include a one-month 'cooling down' period after the official beginning of the new contract before our members begin work. Next week, that will be a two month cooldown. The mandatory cooldown will be extended one month each week until we have an agreement."
-- The WGA if I was in charge.
and that is probably why I should never be in charge of anything bigger than a sidewalk lemonade stand
posted by Naberius at 1:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [8 favorites]
-- The WGA if I was in charge.
and that is probably why I should never be in charge of anything bigger than a sidewalk lemonade stand
posted by Naberius at 1:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [8 favorites]
As much as this is probably a misinformation-morale-disruption plant, I think that the people who run the studios are only interested in Money and Power and they're essentially dead inside, so they view writers/directors/production team / anyone not themselves, and who they deem worthy, as a Cog in the Machine.
They just want the Mechanisim to keep working and stop complaining and that's why A.I. / LLM's seem so alluring because software won't ever go on strike. Software is just a tool that will do whatever it's programmed to do.
The people in charge don't value Art, I don't even think they are capable of seeing it.
It's just 'Content' to them, stuff that the Proles enjoy whenever they are not being Cogs in whatever Machine.
All entertainment is just mush for the masses and it doesn't matter what the format, the platform, the intention, the resulting output is - as long as for the company producing it Line Go Up and More Money / Power for those at the top, and the Cog's keep pumping out the Content.
So they are souless Money / Power amassing individuals but they also want the Cogs to be grateful for being allowed to be Cogs.
Its so dystopian, and real and I hate it.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:04 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
They just want the Mechanisim to keep working and stop complaining and that's why A.I. / LLM's seem so alluring because software won't ever go on strike. Software is just a tool that will do whatever it's programmed to do.
The people in charge don't value Art, I don't even think they are capable of seeing it.
It's just 'Content' to them, stuff that the Proles enjoy whenever they are not being Cogs in whatever Machine.
All entertainment is just mush for the masses and it doesn't matter what the format, the platform, the intention, the resulting output is - as long as for the company producing it Line Go Up and More Money / Power for those at the top, and the Cog's keep pumping out the Content.
So they are souless Money / Power amassing individuals but they also want the Cogs to be grateful for being allowed to be Cogs.
Its so dystopian, and real and I hate it.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:04 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
If the rich people weren’t afraid of unions, they wouldn’t spend so much time and effort trying to break them. If AMPTP weren’t afraid of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, they’d simply say, OK, here’s our terms if you want to go back to work. Instead they’re trying to scare them.
They’re afraid.
posted by azpenguin at 2:20 PM on July 12, 2023 [20 favorites]
They’re afraid.
posted by azpenguin at 2:20 PM on July 12, 2023 [20 favorites]
La la la we are an IATSE family la la la everything is going to be okay la la la pretty sure Mr. Blah has enough hours banked so we'll keep our health insurance no matter what la la la well it was sure nice of Kid Blah's college to allow me to appeal our financial aid and then award us more la la la everything is going to be okay la la la oh god I hate the AMPTP la la la it's all going to be okay la la la I'll just keep saying that to myself all day every day la la la.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2023 [45 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2023 [45 favorites]
In which BlahLaLa demonstrates the origin of their screenname
posted by hippybear at 2:47 PM on July 12, 2023 [31 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:47 PM on July 12, 2023 [31 favorites]
This is how you end the golden age of television.
Oh well, actually making a quality product people truly want makes modern CEOs break out in hives anyway.
posted by jamjam at 2:59 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh well, actually making a quality product people truly want makes modern CEOs break out in hives anyway.
posted by jamjam at 2:59 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Seems like boycotting reality tv helps, right? Isn’t that a general studio plan to get around writers?
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:30 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:30 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Lately whenever there is some kind of fight like this I keep wondering whether the writers could ever band together to make something on their own time, in the meantime? I was sooo happy when the Deadspin writers all walked and started Defector that I keep wanting striking workers to do the same thing and start their own companies, founded more equitably.
For instance, could they all decide to start working on some other project together while they're striking, and be on their way to making their own thing if the studios drag out the current saga?
posted by pulposus at 3:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
For instance, could they all decide to start working on some other project together while they're striking, and be on their way to making their own thing if the studios drag out the current saga?
posted by pulposus at 3:32 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Since when do so many industry sources mess up by saying the quiet part out loud to a reporter? And if all those industry sources did misspeak, it's awfully considerate of the reporters to grant them all anonymity.....
FYI the owner of this publication is in AMPTP. This is just pure propaganda.
posted by bradbane at 3:33 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
FYI the owner of this publication is in AMPTP. This is just pure propaganda.
posted by bradbane at 3:33 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
AMPTP members obviously never want to receive their food unadulterated ever again.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 3:36 PM on July 12, 2023 [17 favorites]
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 3:36 PM on July 12, 2023 [17 favorites]
Lately whenever there is some kind of fight like this I keep wondering whether the writers could ever band together to make something on their own time, in the meantime?
The big difference here is the Deadpan writers were writers doing writing for people to read. These are writers doing material for others to perform while others direct the performers and cameras film the thing and also there are costumes and lighting and sound and and and and....
I wish it were that easy, but this is not an equivalent "move X to Y" sort of situation.
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
The big difference here is the Deadpan writers were writers doing writing for people to read. These are writers doing material for others to perform while others direct the performers and cameras film the thing and also there are costumes and lighting and sound and and and and....
I wish it were that easy, but this is not an equivalent "move X to Y" sort of situation.
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
AMPTP members obviously never want to receive their food unadulterated ever again.
I mean, if the actors also go on strike, is there any restaurant that isn't full of aspiring writers and actors? Any coffee shack? If I were working in a gas station and one of them bought cigarettes I'd have a long thin needle on hand to run sideways through the pack a couple of times out of sight before I sold it to them.
posted by hippybear at 3:38 PM on July 12, 2023
I mean, if the actors also go on strike, is there any restaurant that isn't full of aspiring writers and actors? Any coffee shack? If I were working in a gas station and one of them bought cigarettes I'd have a long thin needle on hand to run sideways through the pack a couple of times out of sight before I sold it to them.
posted by hippybear at 3:38 PM on July 12, 2023
Serious question—what do these fucking CEO ghouls get or hope to get out of prolonging talks while literally hoping that people lose their homes?
From the article:
Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2
Every dollar that public companies spend on compensation can't be used to buy back shares. From wall st's point of view, labour are thieves stealing money from ownership. That's all.
posted by Sauce Trough at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2023 [17 favorites]
From the article:
Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2
Every dollar that public companies spend on compensation can't be used to buy back shares. From wall st's point of view, labour are thieves stealing money from ownership. That's all.
posted by Sauce Trough at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2023 [17 favorites]
Since when do so many industry sources mess up by saying the quiet part out loud to a reporter?
I just have so much trouble grappling with the fact that anyone could be this much of an open cartoon villain.
Because they knew it wouldn't hurt them at all whatsoever to openly say that. They have so much power ("we'll just get AI!") they can do what they like.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:09 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just have so much trouble grappling with the fact that anyone could be this much of an open cartoon villain.
Because they knew it wouldn't hurt them at all whatsoever to openly say that. They have so much power ("we'll just get AI!") they can do what they like.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:09 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
They have so much power ("we'll just get AI!") they can do what they like.
Well...
Who's to say their use of AI, should it come to that, would produce anything anyone wants to watch
The basket they have their eggs in, if AI is indeed the case they're regarding as a fallback, is incapable of producing anything new. It only answers the question "if you had to answer this question, which is a likely answer you might hear?", and there is nothing new in anything it produces.
Consumers of media want new things. I mean, yes, soap opera audiences have been devouring the same content for longer than I've been alive, and I'm old, but the television shows and movies that really draw eyeballs are things that are new, that are fresh, that haven't been imagined up before and then consumed into a database.
I don't know how the young people today feel about this situation, ages 5 to 20. I'd like to hear from them. It's their years, decades from now, that are going to be truly affected by this. When they're 35 to 50, it's NOW they will be looking back upon. What will they see as the media offered to them? What will they be remembering and feeling nostalgic about?
If the producers and AI win out, kids today when they are adults will be nostalgic for scripts written by computers with no imagination, only regurgitation.
I don't know what the implications of that are, but they can't be good. We've been driven by imagination for all of human history up until, well, now. We can't possibly imagine what a future in which our stories are no longer created by humans making new things would be like.
posted by hippybear at 4:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Well...
Who's to say their use of AI, should it come to that, would produce anything anyone wants to watch
The basket they have their eggs in, if AI is indeed the case they're regarding as a fallback, is incapable of producing anything new. It only answers the question "if you had to answer this question, which is a likely answer you might hear?", and there is nothing new in anything it produces.
Consumers of media want new things. I mean, yes, soap opera audiences have been devouring the same content for longer than I've been alive, and I'm old, but the television shows and movies that really draw eyeballs are things that are new, that are fresh, that haven't been imagined up before and then consumed into a database.
I don't know how the young people today feel about this situation, ages 5 to 20. I'd like to hear from them. It's their years, decades from now, that are going to be truly affected by this. When they're 35 to 50, it's NOW they will be looking back upon. What will they see as the media offered to them? What will they be remembering and feeling nostalgic about?
If the producers and AI win out, kids today when they are adults will be nostalgic for scripts written by computers with no imagination, only regurgitation.
I don't know what the implications of that are, but they can't be good. We've been driven by imagination for all of human history up until, well, now. We can't possibly imagine what a future in which our stories are no longer created by humans making new things would be like.
posted by hippybear at 4:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Waiting for workers to be starved and homeless is always the management goal during a strike. I'm not sure that even amounts to a quiet part but rather just the way it is.
posted by Mitheral at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2023 [13 favorites]
Is now the time when the WGA begins accepting outside donations to their strike fund?
posted by hippybear at 4:39 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:39 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Hippybear:
You can go to the Entertainment Community Fund and donate there, and if you like, specify that you want your donation to help the folks in the WGA.
posted by jscalzi at 4:44 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
You can go to the Entertainment Community Fund and donate there, and if you like, specify that you want your donation to help the folks in the WGA.
posted by jscalzi at 4:44 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
Oh AI is total bullshit. Except as a stick to beat writers. They’re never going to say “fine, we’ll just use AI”, they’ll say “give up now we have AI”, or later on they’ll say “AI wrote the first draft and you merely edited whatever mess it shat up, so we’ll pay you less.”
But actually cutting the writers loose and going to AI? Not happening. They would dearly love to though.
And it looks like the AI companies are getting sued over all the shit they stole anyway.
posted by Artw at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2023 [7 favorites]
But actually cutting the writers loose and going to AI? Not happening. They would dearly love to though.
And it looks like the AI companies are getting sued over all the shit they stole anyway.
posted by Artw at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2023 [7 favorites]
"It’s a reminder for everybody in the industry that we are nothing without the talents of writers and actors," says Casey Bloys, whose platform topped with 127 nominations. "This field of nominations confirms that."
posted by Artw at 5:05 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 5:05 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I mean, the nominations are only against what else was in that year. There will be nominations in the years when AI is writing the scripts too. But comparing a bunch of 2s and 3s when years before you had 8s and 9s...
posted by hippybear at 5:07 PM on July 12, 2023
posted by hippybear at 5:07 PM on July 12, 2023
About the AI stuff: 1) You can't copyright the output of AI. Remix/reuse all you want! 2) No one who says AI is going to replace writers has actually used generative AI.
posted by ryoshu at 5:16 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by ryoshu at 5:16 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think the more likely outcome is the industry becomes economically unwelcoming for everyone except nepobabies and independently wealthy hobbiest and we lose every other point of view.
posted by Artw at 5:18 PM on July 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:18 PM on July 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
And by “becomes” obviously I mean “becomes even more so”, of course.
posted by Artw at 5:19 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 5:19 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would still bet that the studios try AI for a year and see if it makes any hinderance to their bottom line. I doubt it would all that much, except for less buzzy articles on Succession or "AI Succession" or whatever.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:22 PM on July 12, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:22 PM on July 12, 2023
I would still bet that the studios try AI for a year and see if it makes any hinderance to their bottom line.
Meanwhile everyone who is an experienced writer in Hollywood moves on to another profession and there is nobody in place to take their place when they want to call writers back.
posted by hippybear at 5:25 PM on July 12, 2023
Meanwhile everyone who is an experienced writer in Hollywood moves on to another profession and there is nobody in place to take their place when they want to call writers back.
posted by hippybear at 5:25 PM on July 12, 2023
2) No one who says AI is going to replace writers has actually used generative AI.
AI will get better and Hollywood isn't about making art, it's about making a profitable product. At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
What that means and how society handles that is the real question we should be asking, because it will happen.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:30 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
AI will get better and Hollywood isn't about making art, it's about making a profitable product. At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
What that means and how society handles that is the real question we should be asking, because it will happen.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:30 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
Meanwhile everyone who is an experienced writer in Hollywood moves on to another profession and there is nobody in place to take their place when they want to call writers back.
B school tells you staff is to be considered replaceable. The benefit of today is new talent is out there on what we'll call social media. Look for content creators trending on that media via automation and make offers.
A bigger threat to the media money pipeline is if someone starts promoting curated *tube media.as a reaction to their pipeline being dried up. It would be an uphill climb to beat the recommend engines by a 3rd party. Things have changed enough that coop based production might be a viable way to make a profit.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:57 PM on July 12, 2023
B school tells you staff is to be considered replaceable. The benefit of today is new talent is out there on what we'll call social media. Look for content creators trending on that media via automation and make offers.
A bigger threat to the media money pipeline is if someone starts promoting curated *tube media.as a reaction to their pipeline being dried up. It would be an uphill climb to beat the recommend engines by a 3rd party. Things have changed enough that coop based production might be a viable way to make a profit.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:57 PM on July 12, 2023
It's cool to live in a nice society where people do the right thing and take care of each other, where employers look out for their workers (who make the business possible), and where government steps in whenever powerful entities oppress people. I'm so thankful the United States is sensible like that.
posted by abucci at 6:34 PM on July 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by abucci at 6:34 PM on July 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
And at that point anyone will be able to write - shoot, direct, create a soundtrack, edit, etc. - a movie that people will watch. How will studios make a profit when the cost of content generation is effectively zero using AI?
posted by ryoshu at 6:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
And at that point anyone will be able to write - shoot, direct, create a soundtrack, edit, etc. - a movie that people will watch. How will studios make a profit when the cost of content generation is effectively zero using AI?
posted by ryoshu at 6:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
B school tells you staff is to be considered replaceable.
Are writers staff, or are writers talent?
posted by hippybear at 6:51 PM on July 12, 2023
Are writers staff, or are writers talent?
posted by hippybear at 6:51 PM on July 12, 2023
FYI the owner of this publication is in AMPTP. This is just pure propaganda.
The “interesting” part is just that they are confident in sending a message this uncompromising. I feel like usually it’s more euphemistic even if it means the same thing but maybe I’m wrong.
posted by atoxyl at 7:28 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
The “interesting” part is just that they are confident in sending a message this uncompromising. I feel like usually it’s more euphemistic even if it means the same thing but maybe I’m wrong.
posted by atoxyl at 7:28 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile everyone who is an experienced writer in Hollywood moves on to another profession and there is nobody in place to take their place when they want to call writers back.
Part of the reason for the WGA strike is that this pipeline is already being broken by how streaming shows are staffed. They run a mini-room to generate scripts, then just keep on the show runner during production, and none of the (fewer) writers on the show are getting the sort of on-set experience they need to make that next step up.
posted by jimw at 7:31 PM on July 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
Part of the reason for the WGA strike is that this pipeline is already being broken by how streaming shows are staffed. They run a mini-room to generate scripts, then just keep on the show runner during production, and none of the (fewer) writers on the show are getting the sort of on-set experience they need to make that next step up.
posted by jimw at 7:31 PM on July 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
How will studios make a profit when the cost of content generation is effectively zero using AI?
Don't they have pretty complete control of what's shown in cinemas (and clear control over streaming)?
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2023
Don't they have pretty complete control of what's shown in cinemas (and clear control over streaming)?
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2023
Don't they have pretty complete control of what's shown in cinemas (and clear control over streaming)?
If only we had other content distribution methods than theaters and paid streaming services.
Regardless, unless US copyright law changes, AI-generated content is not subject to copyright.
posted by ryoshu at 8:48 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
If only we had other content distribution methods than theaters and paid streaming services.
Regardless, unless US copyright law changes, AI-generated content is not subject to copyright.
posted by ryoshu at 8:48 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
I'm skeptical of this assertion, especially given there is not a whole lot of evidence to back it up. I mean, technically it may be true, in the sense that in 10 years an LLM might be able to produce the sort of forgettable, formulaic dreck that Hollywood churns out at the F tier of movies (you know, the crap you have to wade through to find anything actually worth watching). I do not think that LLMs are producing the script for, say, Glass Onion. LLMs produce variants on the texts they're trained on, they don't originate new ideas.
If I had to guess, we're at the phase of the hype cycle where the powers that be in the Hollywood studios would really like to believe what's being said about the future of AI, and certainly would love to avoid a "No AI" clause in any contracts on the off chance that the hype pans out.
But more likely I think they just want to do whatever they can to weaken if not break the unions because the unions are a Pain In Their Ass. I think the assessment is correct that their ability to do so rests mostly with the lead time provided by production scheduling; when their backlog of material that entered the pipeline pre-strike runs out, they'll be forced to capitulate in short order, so it behooves them to project strength by making it seem as if that's not a concern. Perception among the members of the unions on strike matters a lot. If you can erode their resolve that greatly aids the AMPTP in reaching a more favorable deal or breaking the unions outright. I do not think this strategy will succeed.
posted by axiom at 8:52 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
I'm skeptical of this assertion, especially given there is not a whole lot of evidence to back it up. I mean, technically it may be true, in the sense that in 10 years an LLM might be able to produce the sort of forgettable, formulaic dreck that Hollywood churns out at the F tier of movies (you know, the crap you have to wade through to find anything actually worth watching). I do not think that LLMs are producing the script for, say, Glass Onion. LLMs produce variants on the texts they're trained on, they don't originate new ideas.
If I had to guess, we're at the phase of the hype cycle where the powers that be in the Hollywood studios would really like to believe what's being said about the future of AI, and certainly would love to avoid a "No AI" clause in any contracts on the off chance that the hype pans out.
But more likely I think they just want to do whatever they can to weaken if not break the unions because the unions are a Pain In Their Ass. I think the assessment is correct that their ability to do so rests mostly with the lead time provided by production scheduling; when their backlog of material that entered the pipeline pre-strike runs out, they'll be forced to capitulate in short order, so it behooves them to project strength by making it seem as if that's not a concern. Perception among the members of the unions on strike matters a lot. If you can erode their resolve that greatly aids the AMPTP in reaching a more favorable deal or breaking the unions outright. I do not think this strategy will succeed.
posted by axiom at 8:52 PM on July 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
AI will get better and Hollywood isn't about making art, it's about making a profitable product. At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
That future is filled with endless iterations of Aliens vs Predator in the theater and Law & Order on TV.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 9:34 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
That future is filled with endless iterations of Aliens vs Predator in the theater and Law & Order on TV.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 9:34 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Of course AIs are very soon going to be able to write a three-act picture or sitcom. Some mixture of LLM and more specialized machine learning will do the trick for any decent prompt- the universe of tropes and beats is quite small, the training material is not only all publicly available it's easily correlated to public data box office, ratings and critical appraisal.
Drama series are going to be harder just because they are far more open-ended on plot and characters. I think that "write a 10-episode first season of a science fiction series that is like Mad Men if Mad Men was set in a space navy fleet not an 1960s ad agency" is probably quite a few years away.
posted by MattD at 9:37 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Drama series are going to be harder just because they are far more open-ended on plot and characters. I think that "write a 10-episode first season of a science fiction series that is like Mad Men if Mad Men was set in a space navy fleet not an 1960s ad agency" is probably quite a few years away.
posted by MattD at 9:37 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
And I bet AIs can do today what Hollywood really wants which is "Adapt X Men issue run X to Y into a feature script which is cool like the first Singer movie and Days of Future Past and not bad like X-3 or Apocalypse."
posted by MattD at 9:40 PM on July 12, 2023
posted by MattD at 9:40 PM on July 12, 2023
At some point in the next decade, if not sooner, AI will be able to write a movie that people will pay to watch.
If AI advances that far that fast, it will have taken all our money by then, so it’s a moot point.
posted by jamjam at 9:41 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
AI is not currently at the level of “could script a movie you could pay me to watch”. People are way over estimating the appeal of some structureless meandering pastiche.
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on July 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:50 PM on July 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
What they want is to eliminate people who need to be paid from their small pool of writers. Just like in so many other industries, they want them to compete to get unpaid internships, where the writers are paid in nothing but experience. Lots of people dream of writing for the film industry. If they can break the union they can probably get a bunch of idealists and dreamers working for them for nothing.
Then they are going to expect the writers to also provide some of the financing. You want to see your ideas on the screen? - Well, help us raise the capital to produce the film then.
They will still pay a few of their writers in the long run, and that few will get masses of money. But the few writers who do get paid will be like the people who are CEO of multiple companies. The work will be done by a team of anonymous other people. The lead writer who gets the credit and the big $$$ will be the son of one of their cronies, while the actual writing will be done by the unpaid starry-eyed ambitious people who think they have a chance at recognition if they only do enough unpaid gigs.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:57 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Then they are going to expect the writers to also provide some of the financing. You want to see your ideas on the screen? - Well, help us raise the capital to produce the film then.
They will still pay a few of their writers in the long run, and that few will get masses of money. But the few writers who do get paid will be like the people who are CEO of multiple companies. The work will be done by a team of anonymous other people. The lead writer who gets the credit and the big $$$ will be the son of one of their cronies, while the actual writing will be done by the unpaid starry-eyed ambitious people who think they have a chance at recognition if they only do enough unpaid gigs.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:57 PM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Adam Conover’s (comedian, creator of Adam Ruins Everything, WGA writer and strike organizer) response:
https://youtube.com/shorts/ta8eTkPHl8U
posted by andreinla at 11:54 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
https://youtube.com/shorts/ta8eTkPHl8U
posted by andreinla at 11:54 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
If the rich people weren’t afraid of unions, they wouldn’t spend so much time and effort trying to break them.
posted by azpenguin
Exactly. There is a reason why the rich do everything they can to break unions and ban collective bargaining.
posted by Pouteria at 1:01 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by azpenguin
Exactly. There is a reason why the rich do everything they can to break unions and ban collective bargaining.
posted by Pouteria at 1:01 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I finally canceled my subs to streaming services owned by AMPTP members. Fuck them.
The cheapest available seedbox at ultra.cc ("Lancer") can currently be had for US$$5.75 per month or US$62.10 per year. BitTorrent downloads into the seedbox are wicked fast for newish releases, which I regularly see peaking at over 90 megabytes per second. Connections from the seedbox back to my house appear to be throttled at 5 megabytes per second per connection. That's enough to run HD streams, though all I personally use them for is downloads because I've always considered real-time streaming to be the stupidest way to allocate network bandwidth and sporadic playback stutter puts my teeth on edge.
Ultra.cc gives you a choice of one-click-installable BitTorrent clients; I use and recommend Transmission. Installing the Transmitter for Transmission browser extension makes it possible to start a seedbox download just by clicking a .torrent or Magnet link on a torrent search page. If you're the kind of masochist who enjoys browsing torrent search pages on a phone, the Transmission Remote app does the same job on Android. I'm sure there's some equivalent for iOS.
I am aware that I'm sounding a bit shillish, but my only business relationship with ultra.cc is having been their happy customer for a couple of years. PM me if you need help getting it set up.
posted by flabdablet at 3:22 AM on July 13, 2023 [20 favorites]
The cheapest available seedbox at ultra.cc ("Lancer") can currently be had for US$$5.75 per month or US$62.10 per year. BitTorrent downloads into the seedbox are wicked fast for newish releases, which I regularly see peaking at over 90 megabytes per second. Connections from the seedbox back to my house appear to be throttled at 5 megabytes per second per connection. That's enough to run HD streams, though all I personally use them for is downloads because I've always considered real-time streaming to be the stupidest way to allocate network bandwidth and sporadic playback stutter puts my teeth on edge.
Ultra.cc gives you a choice of one-click-installable BitTorrent clients; I use and recommend Transmission. Installing the Transmitter for Transmission browser extension makes it possible to start a seedbox download just by clicking a .torrent or Magnet link on a torrent search page. If you're the kind of masochist who enjoys browsing torrent search pages on a phone, the Transmission Remote app does the same job on Android. I'm sure there's some equivalent for iOS.
I am aware that I'm sounding a bit shillish, but my only business relationship with ultra.cc is having been their happy customer for a couple of years. PM me if you need help getting it set up.
posted by flabdablet at 3:22 AM on July 13, 2023 [20 favorites]
I don't know much about screenwriting, but I do know (from reading screenwriters' social media, mostly) that viable plot and character aren't the only considerations. BUDGET is another big one -- a script has to be shootable within budget constraints.
AI isn't good at understanding real-world constraints (litotes! your key to quality MeFi posts!). I concur with commenters above that the Powers That Be will be disappointed in it.
posted by humbug at 5:10 AM on July 13, 2023
AI isn't good at understanding real-world constraints (litotes! your key to quality MeFi posts!). I concur with commenters above that the Powers That Be will be disappointed in it.
posted by humbug at 5:10 AM on July 13, 2023
i suspect there’s a lot of internal division within hollywood ownership because there’s definitely a contingent that wants their studios to win the classic awards (oscars, emmys, golden globes) as well as get rich and there’re those who just want to throw slop at the hogs and sleep on a bed of gold. call it the tlc vs hbo divide. as the content dries up the hbo and apple tv execs will be pushing to go to the bargaining table with the union but the tlc and bravo types will be fighting to let the strike keep going, and everything will depend on who wins that internal struggle. judging by the way tlc has been cannibalizing hbo max and turning it from the home of prestige television to the honey boo boo channel i’m not optimistic about the outcome but i also don’t think the studios can survive on reality tv alone and they know it. and they know that llms just can’t write shows, they’re not even choose to being that good yet (if ever). but they might think they can last a few quarters with it being the only available new content (plus a huge catalog of past shows, maybe even marketing campaigns for old shows) if that’s what it takes to get the contract they want. i get the argument that in the end the stock price is everything but the investor class is horny for union busting and if they can tell the street a story about falling viewership as part of a long term strategy to increase profits by breaking the union then it might even make their stocks more attractive in the short term. i dunno, this shit sucks, fuck the ownership. but whatever happens i think this will be a turning point in tv and movies. there will be a before and after the strike, a distinct change in the way content is produced, we just don’t know what the after will look like yet.
posted by dis_integration at 5:54 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 5:54 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
SAG-AFTRA Contract Talks Fail To Reach Deal; National Board Meeting Thursday Morning To Launch Strike; Sides Issue Statements
posted by Artw at 5:57 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:57 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Here is a (non exhaustive) list of the projects that will likely be affected by the SAG strike.
All of these - except Doctor Who (which has reportedly wrapped on Ncuti Gatwa's first season as the Doctor and was in the middle of shooting season 2) - were currently in production despite the current Writer's strike - Deadline.com
TLDR:
posted by Faintdreams at 6:54 AM on July 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
All of these - except Doctor Who (which has reportedly wrapped on Ncuti Gatwa's first season as the Doctor and was in the middle of shooting season 2) - were currently in production despite the current Writer's strike - Deadline.com
TLDR:
- TV Shows:
- House of the Dragon: The second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off If paused, this would be the highest-profile HBO shoot and one of the highest-profile global shoots to go down.
- The Palace: Another HBO show currently filming in Austria and the UK, The Palace features Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Andrea Riseborough,
- Day of the Jackal: Sky and Peacock’s big-budget Frederick Forsyth remake stars Eddie Redmayne in the lead role and is shooting in London, Budapest, Croatia and Austria.
- Industry: The third season of the BBC/HBO finance hit features U.S. actors Myha’la Herrold and Ken Leung in key roles.
- Bad Sisters: Creator Sharon Horgan has carried on writing the BAFTA-winning smash through the writers strike (although she has paused American projects) and Season 2 is set to film in Ireland.
- Doctor Who: The first ever season of the BBC sci-fi smash that is being co-produced for Disney is about to film, starring new doctor Ncuti Gatwa.
- Andor: Season 2 of the Disney+ Star Wars drama shot the majority of season 1 at Pinewood Studios.
- Alien: FX’s small screen remake of the celebrated franchise from Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott is currently in pre-production in Thailand.
- The White Lotus: The highly-anticipated third season of Mike White’s critical darling, which is shifting filming to Thailand,
- Emily in Paris: As with White Lotus, Season 4 of Netflix’s Lily Collins-starring French sensation has already been pushed back due to the writers strike.
- Movies
- Paddington in Peru: The long-awaited threequel following the adventures of everyone’s favorite bear is due to start production on July 24.
- Amateur: Slow Horses director James Hawes’ pic has been shooting in the UK and stars Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who is also producing. We have been told the movie has paused as of today.
- Gladiator 2: The highly-anticiapated Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal-starrer is one of the biggest shoots currently outisde the U.S. and has been filming in Morocco.
- The Radleys: The Damian Lewis-starrer was first revealed by Deadline in June and follows a seemingly ordinary family with a dark secret: they are vampires. Strike action will likely hamper the pic.
- Mortal Kombat 2: Martial arts sequel featuring Karl Urban, Hiroyuki Sanada, Damon Herriman and Martyn Ford has been rolling cameras in Australia.
- Heads of State: Plot details for the Amazon Studios’ pic have been kept under wraps but the project has been shooting in London and stars Idris Elba alongside John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
- Wicked: One of the largest productions shooting in the UK right now is Universal and Jon M. Chu’s remake starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Michelle Yeoh. The project was being mounted at Sky Studios Elstree and would be a big casualty of any SAG walk-out.
- Beetlejuice 2: Starring Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Michael Keaton, this pic is a follow up to Burton’s 1988 cult hit about a ghost recruited to help haunt a house.
- Speak No Evil: Horror experts Blumhouse have also mounted their latest production, starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis in the UK. The remake of the 2022 Danish production follows a family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, which goes from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare.
posted by Faintdreams at 6:54 AM on July 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
”banding together like this provides no benefits.”
posted by Artw at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Iger:
posted by flabdablet at 9:51 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic.Every accusation a confession.
posted by flabdablet at 9:51 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Iger also keen to point out the DGA are very good and amenable.
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on July 13, 2023
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on July 13, 2023
On my Facebook, a meme in three panels:
Captain America: The AMPTP wants this to go on for so long that you do broke
Bruce Banner: That's my secret...
Bruce Banner: I'm always broke.
posted by joannemerriam at 10:34 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Captain America: The AMPTP wants this to go on for so long that you do broke
Bruce Banner: That's my secret...
Bruce Banner: I'm always broke.
posted by joannemerriam at 10:34 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
The homelssness threat was asked about at the SAG-AFTRA strike press conference and they are plenty pissed at AMPTP too. I don't think the maximalist hardline they've taken flies too well.
posted by Artw at 12:36 PM on July 13, 2023
posted by Artw at 12:36 PM on July 13, 2023
Disney just gave Bob Iger a new contract today where of course they showered him in money in gratitude for all the success he has brought them. If only Disney’s board took the same attitude with tier actors and writers.
posted by interogative mood at 12:49 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 12:49 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
SAG-AFTRA just held a press conference where, among other things, the lead negotiator said the producers' proposal for a "groundbreaking" AI contract term was, and this is a direct quote:
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:29 PM on July 13, 2023 [11 favorites]
"They proposed that our background actors should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their company should own that scan, their image, their likeness and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation."Who could have imagined that wouldn't lead to common ground?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:29 PM on July 13, 2023 [11 favorites]
And I bet AIs can do today what Hollywood really wants which is "Adapt X Men issue run X to Y into a feature script which is cool like the first Singer movie and Days of Future Past and not bad like X-3 or Apocalypse."
Did an AI write this comment?
posted by jimw at 4:43 PM on July 13, 2023
Did an AI write this comment?
posted by jimw at 4:43 PM on July 13, 2023
Sort of related to all this is that Iger has announced he might sell ESPN and possibly ABC and other tv properties, if there are any, and also that Marvel fucked up making so many television series on top of movies, flooding the market and exhausting consumers.
I mean, he's not wrong about the Marvel thing, but it's also an announcement of "we will have less content for the foreseeable future" being spun for the market's consumption.
posted by hippybear at 4:46 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I mean, he's not wrong about the Marvel thing, but it's also an announcement of "we will have less content for the foreseeable future" being spun for the market's consumption.
posted by hippybear at 4:46 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
"They proposed that our background actors should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their company should own that scan, their image, their likeness and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation."
Really similar to the first episode of the new season of Black Mirror?
posted by ryoshu at 7:38 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Really similar to the first episode of the new season of Black Mirror?
posted by ryoshu at 7:38 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Bob is awful.
posted by flabdablet at 12:36 AM on July 14, 2023
posted by flabdablet at 12:36 AM on July 14, 2023
Not gonna lie, we knew it would be hard. But by day 72 our souls were cracking. The distant horizon of the strike loomed long and large. But then the AMPTP fucked up. Big time.
posted by Artw at 6:24 AM on July 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 6:24 AM on July 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
Hollywood Bosses Are Trying to Scare Striking Workers Into Folding. They Won’t Win.
posted by Artw at 7:21 PM on July 18, 2023
posted by Artw at 7:21 PM on July 18, 2023
IATSE Calls Strike Authorization Vote, Could Halt Broadway and Touring Shows as Soon as Friday [Playbill] That's the The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, because acronyms.
posted by hippybear at 12:43 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:43 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Update: IATSE Strike Averted With Tentative Agreement; Broadway and National Tours to Continue as Scheduled [Playbill]:
The backstage union has reached a tentative agreement on its Pink Contract with The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical, which will now be voted on by union membership.posted by flabdablet at 6:51 PM on July 20, 2023
Negotiations update - negotiations not going well, studios being shits.
posted by Artw at 11:14 PM on August 4, 2023
posted by Artw at 11:14 PM on August 4, 2023
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posted by hippybear at 12:02 PM on July 12, 2023 [13 favorites]