#Actor Strike

[animentality]

[monsterhospital]

[pippin-pippout]

For those following the SAG and WGA strikes there’s new shit a-brewing, this time targeting background actors (aka extras).

Some may know that one of the issues SAG is fighting is that studios want to take virtual scans of background actors and use them in perpetuity (meaning forever) without any additional compensation to those background actors. So you would just see a bunch of AI generated humans in future movies based off of a background actor that worked one day.

This is already shitty because working as an extra for 3 days on a union set (if you receive a union voucher each day) is one of the main ways to qualify for SAG eligibility. This means that a lot of actors working background do not yet have union protection and likely do not have an agent or manager to protect them. Disney has already allegedly told background actors to do this on the set of Wanda Vision: https://www.avclub.com/wandavision-background-actors-say-disney-scanned-them-1850709900

Here’s where it's worse.

There is one main company that supplies background actors for major union and non union productions. Central Casting. They love to brag about their very long influence in the industry - in old movies dating back to the 40s you can hear jokes about hiring extras from Central Casting.

Central Casting has been including an electronic document for all actors in their database to sign as part of onboarding. Signing it gives Central Casting the right to use your images, your videos, and YOUR LIKENESS in perpetuity, forever. They would OWN your likeness. Instead of it being a studio supplying the AI background actors, it would be Central Casting instead.

Receiving any work from Central Casting in the future is conditional upon signing it. No signature = no extra work = no extra income for union actors trying to make health insurance minimums, no union extra work for pre-SAG members.

SAG already reached out to Central Casting to tell them to stop. Central Casting refused.

Edit to say: this is not new. It’s part of actors onboarding and is called the Photo, Image, and Video Release. It’s phrased to sound like you are just giving them permission to use your image and video for CC’s website and promotional purposes. But the actual language is much broader. It's only recently being brought up as a point for discussion because some casting directors (who are generally supportive of the strike) started pointing it out.

Central Casting is owned by Entertainment Partners which is also a giant software conglomerate and owns a lot of the software used to organize background casting and pay actors. https://www.ep.com/company/about-us/

[pixeljade]

The thing with the writers strike and actors strike is that. You ALL have to start realizing that the cool creative jobs they paint as "glamorous" in the media are actually ALL struggling in a big way, and basically everyone below "Huge Household Name" is actually often having to spend THEIR OWN DAY JOB MONEY to keep trying and trying to "break into" that household name status.

Like, im a cartoonist. Just starting out, but already fairly successful! My comics are sold in a handful of states, i sell out of my works, and i even have been featured as a finalist in a couple awards shows AND have pieces bought by a cartooning museum. I still barely make a couple hundred per month off it IF IM LUCKY, and spend almost as much trying to print more. Oh yes, i have to print my own comics! And working for a big comic company, they generally require you to bring some level of your own equipment. Heck, even if you make it "big" as a cartoonist...you wanna know how much you get paid if your comic that you spent months of back-breaking labor on is adapted into a marvel movie? A one-time check for $5000. Out of the BILLIONS those movies make, in perpetuity for eternity, you are given $5k. Pre-tax. Pre-agent. Pre-lawyer. (Yes we have agents and lawyers too, quite often). There's hardly any cartoonists who can afford to quit their day jobs, and even those who do are never living above the lower middle class range.

Now obviously cartooning is not the same as acting or writing, but my point is that we NEED yall to stop thinking just because you see our work as cool that we are living some dream life!!! Basically the only people who are living these dream lives you think of are CEOs of major companies and the occasional celebrity. The rest of us are just out here, struggling to survive just like you, we just happen to have a side hustle which is Kinda Cool.

[barbaricjester]

I hope they lose it all I am so serious. Lose it or pay them.

[mysteryspotcast]

every day the writers and actors strikes continue i think about what narrative choice accidentally influenced by the strikes will shift pop culture after it in the way that Castiel's introduction and character was influenced by the 2007 writers strike. what will be the Castiel of the 2023 dual WGA/SGA strike. what will be the destiel.

[kaplooie]

[monkeyfishgirl]

[helenoftroydidnothingwrong]

Love that the replies on all of netflix’s posts are turned off. I assume this is because all the comments would be telling them to PAY THEIR FUCKING ACTORS

[emuanon34]

LET’S MOTHERFUCKING GOOOOOOOOO!

[13thdoctorposts]

Does anyone understand how the American strikes affect Doctor Who? Because Mandip and Billie at cons haven't been talking about the show... I'm guessing thats because it's seen as promotion?... and the Actors for the upcoming show weren't at San Diego Comic Con... yet the show can release trailers and stuff... I feel like the Actors talking about their time on the show from years ago really doesn't hold a candle to promotion like releasing a teaser or trailer. I don't understand, does anyone know? And are all actors not talking about their shows?

[nonsensefool]

[iww-gnv]

Lead negotiators for SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will head back to the table on Monday, Oct. 2, after a bitter concurrent strike led by the Writers Guild of America was resolved on Tuesday. “SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will resume negotiations for a new TV/Theatrical contract on Monday, Oct. 2. Several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.

[mistresscitrusslice]

A celebration may be in order.

Image Description: Castiel from Supernatural saying “I love you” to Dean. I’m the panel below, Dean Winchester says, “SAG-AFTRA and the entertainment studios have reached a tentative deal granting workers better compensation, better healthcare, and guaranteed protections from AI. Over the next few days, Union members will vote on accepting the new contract. Well done all.”

(Article)

[meet-me-in-the-pouringrain]

A lot of y’all follow me for Criminal Minds content but for the next however long, all i’m going to do is reblog and spread awareness surrounding WGA and SAG strikes.

I used to be an actress and it was really fucking soul sucking and horrid to take part in. I was paid £10 for a full day of shooting an advert that never even ended up airing. I have a screenwriter for a friend and currently she’s on disability allowance. She cannot get a working job because of her health and is living of her allowance and student loans. She’s depending on screenwriting to LIVE. Her future is at a huge risk with this AI shite these execs are trying to pull.

These billionaires are literally attempting to ‘starve them out’. This is a disgusting lack of humanity.

Lot of shit to say so there’s more under the cut 👇

Writers deserve to be paid fairly. Without them, there would be NO Hollywood. They’re struggling to make ends meet. Some are on food stamps, some are at risk of losing their homes.

Actors are not rich. There are 160,000 actors unionised in SAG and 99% of them barely make working class income. Your Jennifer Anistons, Margot Robbies, Tom Cruises are the HIGHEST of the HIGHEST paid actors. they got lucky. Most actors don’t even have health insurance.

Along side this bullshit pay, AMPTP wants to scan actors digitally and replicate their likeness with AI. The actors would be paid for a SINGULAR day of work, while their likeness would be used how the studios would like, for as long as they would like.

It’s horribly dystopian and fucking horrific. Like we’re living in a black mirror episode.

Everyone should care about this.

Support the writers. Support the actors. Support other fucking humans.

[cryptidize]

Wishing all animators, voice actors, in-person actors, cgi and effect technicians, and everyone else in the industry a very STRIKE