And...Cut!

The Strategy

As the WGA strike enters its 9th week, all major film and TV productions have been shut down in Los Angeles – and some across the country, like in Chicago and in New York. A new picketing strategy has been successfully adopted. Small gatherings of strikers and sympathizers join, last minute, a location where a shooting is taking place. The picket lines make it harder for the filming to happen since the unions are now much more connected and crew members tend to be sympathetic. 

Ghost Town

Picketing in front of big studios and shooting locations is the way protesters found to hurt producers' pockets, considering that little progress has been made since the beginning of the strike, almost 60 days ago.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a lost day of production costs around $250,000 and is not covered by insurers in case of a strike. Therefore, producers decided to come to a halt with all the current productions – better safe than in debt. Los Angeles has no current productions happening, according to The Los Angeles Magazine.

The AI Threat

One of the main unresolved points of the current WGA x AMPTP disagreement is the use of AI, which, according to this Wired article, places writing professionals in the "fully exposed" category (meaning that AI is most likely to replace writers altogether if there are no regulations). 

Hence, what the WGA is asking for is to "regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies". In other words, the WGA wants to try to keep the use of AI as it is meant to be: just a tool. It is a smart move since trying to ban it would be unrealistic. So far, the AMPTP has rejected the proposal.

The Algorithm

It is important to remember that the algorithm, a massive AI application, is already exerting significant influence over us by guiding our choices of what to watch, listen or buy next, as highlighted by the NY Times. Of course, things can get much more out of control, like the episode "Joan Is Awful", from Black Mirror (Netflix), suggests. It is, for sure, an urgent matter.

Creative Economy

AI is a threat across different fields, from truck drivers to academic professors. How every industry will regulate (or not) its use is a question that will probably take most of the current decade to be answered. 

Meanwhile, the entertainment guilds are trying to set up good principles for this relationship. SAG-AFTRA has already published a statement in defense of not using AI to impersonate actors. The music industry is also battling the use of it, especially since the fake Drake / The Weeknd collab (Time).

SAG-AFTRA and DGA

On June 5th, 97% of the SGA-AFTRA members, which represents 160,000 performers and broadcasters, voted to start a strike if they don't reach an agreement with the AMPTP, which needs to happen before June 30th. The LA Times has the full story.

The DGA, on the other hand, has negotiated a tentative agreement and is recommending it to the National Board to be approved (read more in Deadline). At least two main points are common to those of SAG-AFTRA and WGA: streamer's residuals and AI regulations. 

The Future

As those two very crucial aspects need to be renegotiated across the entire entertainment chain, we at Malin Entertainment applaud the efforts of the guilds to adapt to the massive changes our industry is facing. This is truly a critical moment that may define the future of content creation and distribution. Please feel free to shoot us an email with your thoughts.

Best,

Laura