The Impact of The Hollywood Strike #243
By Hank Silverberg
The people who write and act in most of the movies and TV shows we all see are on strike. And it's going to have a big impact on the country.
Lots of people won't have sympathy for the highly paid stars of the big shows and movies. Not to pick on anybody, but the residuals from the Friends series alone will keep the show's stars quite wealthy.
But what about the character actors who don't get paid much in residuals and who don't make a living unless they get new parts in new productions? They would like some pay equity.
And what about the food worker in the studio who is likely to get laid off when there's no one to feed?
Make-up artists, camera and sound people, those who provide the props, and many more all depend on studio productions to make a living.
And will local movie theaters still not recovered from the pandemic be able to stay in business once new product stops coming in?
There are other issues for the strikers. Imagine for a minute you are a bit player or extra who gets paid a fair daily wage for sitting in the background of that new "Barbie" movie. Among the items the striking workers are worried about is an increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence. In the past they might work a week or ten days and get paid for all of them.
But it may soon work like this: You get called in to work as an extra for one day. Then they have your likeness on video and the next time they need an extra they simply create an AI who looks like you, who may even read a few lines or dance or interact with other actors. But you don't get any more work on the movie, nor do you get paid for the use of your likeness.
Here's another possibility: An AI will take a character used in a previous movie and based on characteristics and previous work, the AI writes a sequel without the benefit of a human being at a keyboard. A movie written by AI and not a human writer!
They might not even need Harrison Ford for another Indiana Jones movie (he's retiring anyway). They could just have one AI write the script and another play "Indy" using Ford's likeness and an AI manipulated voice.
These are some of the items SAG-AFTRA and Writer's Guild of America are striking over. They want the contract rewritten to clarify these and other issues.
It's kind of like the UAW fighting a complete takeover of car manufacturing by unmanned machines.
This is going to be a growing concern for almost every worker in America in the next 50 years, and probably beyond.
Media titan Bob Dillar was on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday with one idea on how to end the strike. He says everybody at the top end of the business, both executives and actors, are probably overpaid. (duh, ya think?) So, he suggested this:
“The one idea I had is to say, as a good faith measure, both the executives and the most-paid actors should take a 25 percent pay cut to try and narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don’t.”
But that is not the only issue by far. He predicted there needs to be a contract agreement by September 1st or the whole industry might collapse.
Two added notes on this: The AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) members are not on strike. That union, which merged with SAG (Screen Actors Guild) a while back represents broadcasters, news people and sports broadcasters, and they work under a different contract and are therefore not striking.
The strike will also not stop the actors from doing audio books, commercials or video game voices which are under a different contract. And the actors may still go to work on some movies shot outside the United States
Also, in the interest of transparency, I am an AFTRA retiree collecting a pension from the union. But that doesn't change the facts.
Let's hope the very rich, overpaid studio executives and producers can bend a little and reach an agreement so that everyone can resume work and we can all go back to the movies.
A Message From The World's Oceans!
There are more indications this week that climate change is having a significant impact on Earth. The
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| (The blue waters of earth taken from Apollo 8 in 1968, courtesy NASA) |
Ocean water surface temperatures were also at a record high in May and June, according to the WMO.
And it could get hotter because of the return of the El Nino weather pattern this year.
There's also some more colorful evidence of climate change. The journal Nature says the world's oceans look different than they did just 20 years ago. Around 56% of the world's oceans have changed color, with blue waters becoming greener over time. This is particularly evident near the equator in the hotter climate.
Researchers at both MIT and the National Oceanography Center in the U.K. attribute the change in color to climate change. The greener color occurs when light from the sun bounces off materials and life near the surface of the water. Greener water is largely the result of more phytoplankton, which spreads over more areas as the oceans warm. This all has an impact on sea life below the surface, which provides a good deal of the food to the more than eight billion people who live on this planet.
Much of this information on ocean color is gathered from satellites, and NASA is set to look closer at ocean color with a mission called PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean, Econcystem) set for next year.
Antarctic ice levels undergo 'massive decrease', data shows | Reuters
Global climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology | Nature
FAKE Endorsements!
You may have missed this constructive announcement from the Federal Trade Commission which could have a big effect on what you buy.
The FTC is proposing new rules aimed at stopping marketers from using fake reviews or endorsements of products sold online. The rules would also prevent the suppression of honest negative reviews.
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The proposed rules will also prohibit the common practice of paying for good reviews.
The new regulations would include civil penalties for violators of up to $50,000 for each infraction.
Here's the one I like the most. Businesses would be prohibited from selling false indicators of social media influence, like fake followers.
And the regulations would also prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence to write or portray human- sounding product reviews.
If there's no effort to stop these new regulations, which is always possible, they could take effect just in time for the holiday shopping season.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
Last week I couldn't find a quote dumb enough to fit this category. But this week I have two.
One comes from Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. In a radio interview the former Auburn University football coach gave earlier in the year, he was asked if he believes "White Nationalists" belong in the U.S. military.
He said: "Well, they call them that. I call them Americans."
And when the transcripts became public this past week, Tuberville spent much of the week trying to clarify just what he meant. He made this comment on CNN this past week:
“My opinion of a White Nationalist, if someone wants to call them a White Nationalist, to me, is an American. It’s an American. Now, if that White Nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against anything that they want to do because I am 110 percent against racism.”
He then called "White Nationalist" a label that liberals like to slap on their political opponents.
There was immediate condemnation from a flurry of Democrats and a similar reaction from the GOP leadership on Capitol Hill. The bottom line though, is this Senator, who coached dozens of minority students in his years at Auburn, apparently learned nothing about race in America. "White Nationalists" claim to be a superior race to all other people in the country, including Blacks, Jews and all immigrants. Many people in the Republican party have been enabling them to spread their hate over the last decade.
Tuberville is not alone in his use of terminology and thought. Just ask freshman Republican Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona's 2nd District. He was on the House floor debating an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill would have prohibited the Pentagon from mandating training or support on race-based concepts for hiring, promotion or retention of individuals.
This is what he said:
"My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people, or Black people, or anybody, can serve."
Yes, you read that right. He used the old derogative term "colored people" when referring to Black people, though he tried to awkwardly correct it.
Rep. Eli Crane refers to Black Americans as 'colored people' on House floor (usatoday.com)
Tuberville’s white nationalism comments trigger GOP uproar | The Hill
There were immediate calls to have the words "colored people" removed from the official Congressional Record. Crane later tried to clarify that he meant "people of color," but the words may have expressed his true political colors.
Words matter.
With that in mind, I ask my readers to forward me any comments you think deserve to be listed as "Dumbest Quote of The Week." I am looking for more variety, though it seems Republican politicians seem to be leading this category. Note: these have to be current and timely quotes.
(Your comments and suggestions for this blog are welcome, see comment section below)
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HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
(Your comments and suggestions for this blog are welcome, see comment section below)
My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes.
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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