SAG-AFTRA, the union representing film and television actors, enters contract negotiations with the major studios this month with a list of demands including expanded AI protections, streaming residuals reform, and minimum rates for new media distribution. The negotiations come less than three years after a lengthy strike that cost the industry an estimated 6 billion dollars.
AI usage provisions are the most contentious issue. Studios want maximum flexibility to use AI for de-aging actors, creating synthetic background performers, and generating translated versions of performances without paying additional compensation. Actors and their representatives argue that these applications pose an existential threat to their earnings and likeness rights that no residual formula can adequately compensate.
