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Actors’ Union Says It Receives ‘Last, Best and Final’ Offer From Studios (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 10 months ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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What the fuck are the studios gonna do, make movies and shows without actors?

Highlights: The negotiating committee of the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, told its members on Saturday that it had received a “Last, Best and Final Offer” from the major entertainment studios as a strike that has brought much of Hollywood to a standstill continued for a 114th day.

“We are reviewing it and considering our response within the context of the critical issues addressed in our proposals,” the negotiating committee said. They did not say when they would respond to the offer, which came after an hourlong video conference call that included top studio executives.

Included in the offer was a wage increase that could be the highest in four decades, according to a person familiar with the offer who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. The studios also offered the actors a new way to determine residuals for streaming programs based on performance metrics, and protections on artificial intelligence, including consent and compensation requirements. The studios also offered an increase to the pension and health funds.

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[-] Ejh3k@lemmy.world 142 points 10 months ago

As a Teamster union steward, any time I hear about a last, best, final, I immediately get super skeptical. Which one is it? Last? Best? Or final?

Probably not best. Probably not last. Final? Doubtful.

Whatever the offer, triple it, then double that. SAG has these motherfuckers by the balls. Double the triple double. Fuck them all.

[-] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago

What's the difference between last and final?

[-] Ejh3k@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

Probably nothing, and that's just another reason I don't believe them.

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[-] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 126 points 10 months ago

ha, isnt it always the last offer? i mean, if it wasnt they would wait for the next!

its like finding your keys, theyre always in the last place you look!

[-] Gandarf@startrek.website 24 points 10 months ago

It's just awkwardly worded. The SAG reported they've received an offer from the studio, in which they studio called "the last, best, and final" offer they're (sag) going to get.

[-] MagicShel@programming.dev 45 points 10 months ago

It's blatantly untrue, though. If the actors don't accept it are the studios going to just close up shop? No. So it's absolutely not the final offer unless they accept it.

[-] Gandarf@startrek.website 21 points 10 months ago

Agreed. It's just studio bravado. "THIS IS MY LAST, BEST, AND FINAL OFFER PARKER!" as Spiderman continues and JJJ keeps paying despite his previous outburst.

[-] silverbax@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago

Yeah, it's just bullshit. They said the same thing during the writer's strike before making two more offers.

[-] M500@lemmy.ml 12 points 10 months ago

Not if you keep looking 🤔

[-] aeronmelon@lemm.ee 9 points 10 months ago

That was a Jeff Foxworthy bit.

"Hey, Jeff, you find your wallet?"

"Yeah, but I'm still lookin' for it. Just in case we're livin' in a parallel universe."

[-] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 7 points 10 months ago

you keep looking for things after you find them? i guess everyone needs a hobby

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[-] MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 55 points 10 months ago

Please help us help the studio executives find a better offer by buying some swag here.

sagaftra.org/official-sag-aftra-strike-swag-available

[-] phoneymouse@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago

Oh look, it’s fake Margot Robbie again

[-] ComradePorkRoll@lemmy.ml 7 points 10 months ago

You leave our Margot alone!

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[-] SoupBrick@yiffit.net 15 points 10 months ago

swagaftra

[-] PR3CiSiON@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

Hello Margot Robbie!

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[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 41 points 10 months ago

"Final offer"

Sure...

[-] rivermonster@sh.itjust.works 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yes, very soon, actors will be unnecessary, and the vast majority of content will be ai generated in every sense (written, acted, voiced, etc).

Human created projects will exclusively be a small market niche product like indie films. People will still seek them out, but they'll be a tiny y market segment.

If this sounds impossible, chances are that it's for lack of keeping up with ai and machine learning.

I'm NOT advocating. I am just taking a best guess based on current proof of concept, capitalism, and reality.

EDIT: LOL, the funny thing about tears, tantrums, and downvotes is that they won't change reality. But whatever helps you folks sleep at night. Future is gonna be extremely rough for you guys. ><

[-] TechyDad@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago

I highly doubt this for one big reason: The courts have already ruled that AI generated content isn't eligible for copyright protection.

Suppose a studio managed to make a Big AI Action Franchise using only AI. They wouldn't be able to copyright any of the movie. This would mean that people could download and share it freely. Streaming services could put it online without needing to pay the studio that "made" the film. Movie theaters could get a copy online and show it instead of paying for copies.

A copyright free AI Movie would be a revenue disaster. And we know that if there's one thing the studios care about, it's money.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago

"These people will be replaced one day, so let's not pay them fairly now" is not the good argument you think it is.

[-] ArbiterXero@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago

Very soon is still 10 years out, but you aren’t wrong.

Ironically this will level the playing field for truly good and creative writing, but will also generate a fuck ton of “crap”

It’s gonna be an interesting ride.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago

10 years out is still very optimistic...

I'd be surprised if there's a movie in 2033 that had absolutely zero input from a human, let alone a popular one and definitely not the vast majority of movies.

Even 20 years is probably optimistic.

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[-] snooggums@kbin.social 13 points 10 months ago

There is no way that completely AI generated movies will be the majority of content that people actually watch and talk about in the next 50 years. Yes, it will take over a lot of the tedious parts of filming and will probably make up a significant portion of a lot of movies, like any kind of automation does.

Any attempts to AI generate a script for a full movie is going to be gibberish without human intervention, actually doing the right emotion for the right lines, and action scenes that aren't a train wreck are going to be comedic levels of crap for a very, very long time.

Humans can barely pull all of those off and what is the AI going to learn from when most of the current movies are crap? Hell, I will be impressed when AI can create a 10 minute short that is coherent and I don't see that happening before 2050.

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[-] hubobes@sh.itjust.works 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

That’s awesome, why would we need the studios then? I can just generate my own movies. But until then maybe we can compensate actors fairly and the studios can also live on until we don’t need them anymore.

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[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

They already did, it's called "reality" television and it's why we have the show COPS. However bored people have more entertainment options this time around, and more direct sources of information about the strike.

[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 11 points 10 months ago

So does this mean actors will leave Hollywood en masse, buy their own cameras and equipment, use open source CGI or just rip off the bigwigs' programs, and we can go back to making movies for art and not for capitalist commodities and mindless propaganda?

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[-] Pasta4u@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

Get content from other countries or get non union actors to work on your projects

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

Yeah! I'm looking forward to seeing Bandernick Comberbush and Elozibeth Ilson in the next Dr. Strange movie. It's not like anything in the previous movies endeared me to those characters.

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this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023

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