To Protest A.I. Job Replacement: This Is How the Hollywood Strike Threatens the American Film Industry

Since sixty years ago, Hollywood has not witnessed a strike that brought together tens of thousands of actors and screenwriters, such as the one witnessed today in the city of stars and the largest and most famous film production in the world.

A large number of Hollywood actors went on strike, with an unclear end, joining thousands of writers who began their strike last May.

The actors and writers’ unions said that the demands aim to protect members in an era characterized by rapid changes and uncertainty in the entertainment industry, demanding better salaries for their members and guarantees about the possibility of their work being affected by the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.).

Last month, more than 300 leading Hollywood stars wrote to the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) leadership supporting strike action.

With some of Hollywood’s biggest stars on strike, press junkets for summer and fall movie premieres will be canceled, and the Emmy Awards will probably be postponed.

 

Seismic Strike

In a report on July 16, 2023, The Financial Times highlighted the strike of tens of thousands of Hollywood actors, screenwriters, and filmmakers and their announcement to halt television and film production, in the industry’s first joint strike in more than six decades after talks broke down between their unions with major studios and broadcast giants.

The newspaper reported that the move came after SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 Hollywood actors, voted unanimously on July 13 to recommend the latter go on strike after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to ratify a new contract.

The strike comes as movie theater owners begin celebrating their first full slate of summer movies since 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

On May 7, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which includes more than 11,500 members, announced its entry into a strike after the failure of negotiations with major Hollywood studios and platforms regarding demands specifically related to increasing their wages and providing guarantees that protect their professions from being compensated by A.I., as reported by The New York Times.

The writers believe that Hollywood profits have increased dramatically over the past two decades, by more than $100 billion over that period, and against this, the average income of screenwriters decreased by the equivalent of 4%, and the percentage may reach 23%, taking into account inflation.

This widespread strike by American film and television workers comes at the height of the entertainment season in Hollywood and at a time when production companies are preparing to release a number of films that are betting on making a noise this season, which could have huge implications for Hollywood depending on how long it takes.

While some businesses were immediately affected when the WGA went on strike, others could still continue shooting if their scripts were already complete.

But stopping actors from going to filming locations will largely stop the production of many films and series in the United States.

According to a report published by the BBC recently, it is likely that the production of the most famous films currently being filmed in Hollywood, including parts of Avatar and Gladiator, will be affected by these strikes.

A number of promotional events will also be affected, such as the premieres of both the Haunted Mansion and Oppenheimer films, which will be released later this month.

However, The Wall Street Journal said that platforms such as Netflix and Max usually produce their programs and films well in advance of their official launch date, as well as major movie studios, which means that they will not be affected by the strike, at least until early 2024.

 

Historic Suffering

Hollywood has witnessed many changes and shocks during the past years due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying setbacks at all levels.

One of these challenges, which has grown surprisingly quickly, and which the Hollywood community has not been able to adapt to, is the increase in the prices of online broadcasting services, which has made it difficult for production studios to earn profits as usual.

Previously, profits came from the number of viewers who paid and attended movie theaters, but now they come from an online following, which has made producers, actors, and writers suffer.

The rise of Netflix and other streamers has upended decades-long business practices that have led workers to believe the current Hollywood model is fundamentally broken.

In 2007, a strike took place that lasted for 100 days, as Hollywood writers went on strike, which led to the cessation of many works and series, and major cinematic works remained unfinished.

This strike cost the state of California alone $2 billion in losses, although production did not stop completely, which greatly affected the reality of cinema and art in the city of art that dazzled the world from 1910 until today.

The SAG-AFTRA has not gone on strike in 43 years, and it has been even longer since the actors and writers have picked up at the same time.

Their last joint strike action was in 1960 when Ronald Reagan was the head of the Screen Actors Guild.

 

A.I. Job Replacement

The strike waged by Hollywood workers, actors, and screenwriters is the first labor protest in history against A.I. systems, which are witnessing a wide development that is matched only by the intensity of their use in all fields, especially the cinematic industry, which represents a major threat to hundreds of jobs that support thousands of workers.

According to financial experts at Goldman Sachs, AI threatens to eliminate more than 300 million full-time jobs by 2030, according to a report published by the BBC on March 28.

According to a survey conducted by YouGov last June, 36% of entertainment workers in the United States expressed significant concerns about the impact A.I. will have on their jobs.

Also, 13% of Hollywood entertainment workers admitted that they, their team, or their company are currently using generative A.I. tools, while another 17% revealed that they plan to implement them soon.

According to American screenwriter Jason Hellerman, AI algorithms can analyze data about viewer preferences and make recommendations based on those preferences. This could lead to studios relying on this software to produce films for specific audiences, thus eliminating cinematic creativity.

In addition, A.I. can be used to automate certain aspects of the filmmaking process, such as editing, story writing, or sound design, which could eliminate thousands of jobs, in front of the temptation offered by this software to studios by reducing production costs and increasing efficiency.

In this regard, the American journalist, Benjamin Mankiewicz, stated that he tried to rewrite the introduction to the screenplay for the movie Citizen Kane via the ChatGPT program, as the Guardian reported in a report on March 23.

“The score was lacking in some detail and context, but it was well written and thoughtful…It was very impressive,” Mankiewicz said.

In addition to writing, techniques such as deep falsification can be used in acting, which may detract from the originality of the actor’s creativity, as well as violate his personal privacy and creative property rights, according to a Wired report he published on February 14.

In this regard, American actor Keanu Reeves stated that he had imposed on the production company to add a clause that would prevent studios from digitally modifying his performance.