Chief negotiator says talking with AI studios “erratic”

After the AMPTP called its AI proposal “groundbreaking” at SAG-AFTRA yesterday, the Federation of Representatives’ national executive director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, still disagrees.

“We’re a long way from AI,” Crabtree-Ireland said in his argument yesterday, explaining that AMPTP is boosting backend performance to that point.

Crabtree-Ireland made her remarks outside the Disney studios today at the final stop on a one-day tour of the studios with SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.

Irishman Crabtree said, “Companies refuse to accept that people cannot be expected to sign their name, image, form, sound and personality to the corporate group and that they have no right to say what they will do with it in the future.”

“This will not happen, we will not agree to such terms, so the companies will have to move in our direction and reach a fair agreement,” he said.

Crabtree-Ireland explained, “We didn’t go into these talks saying ‘we ban artificial intelligence'”.

“We entered these talks saying that the artificial intelligence needs to be built in a way that respects the actors and their human rights over their bodies, their voices, their images and their likeness”.

“Anything less would not be acceptable.”

AMPTP said yesterday that it has submitted to SAG-AFTRA “an important AI proposal that protects artists’ digital equality, including requiring artist consent for the creation and use of digital reproductions or making digital modifications to performances “.

However, at yesterday’s Actors Guild Strike Officer, Crabtree-Ireland rebutted: “This ‘unprecedented’ AI proposal they put out to us yesterday is that our background artists should be able to be scanned and paid a day’s salary and His companies should have a scanned image, his likeness which they can use in perpetuity on any project without consent and compensation. If you think this is a revolutionary proposition, I suggest you Think again.”

Asked when studios and broadcasters would feel the impact on their earnings from the SAG-AFTRA strike, Crabtree-Ireland said: “I think all the efforts they’ve made to try to manipulate us at one point, Looking at them, I think ‘I’m worried about the immediate impact, especially in terms of promoting summer movies and things like that.’

Crabtree-Ireland has encouraged her to “speak up on social media” on how consumers, TV and streaming viewers can show solidarity.

“Audiences can help us think about corporate behaviour; The companies they want to consume content from, said the conversation manager.

“Consumers are watching and consumers know the fight we’re in is a just one, so I think these companies should be very concerned about alienating the public.”

Crabtree-Ireland continued: “Ten or 20 years ago this would not have happened – there is a movement going on in this country for labor solidarity and fair treatment of workers, and we are part of that movement,” he continued, ” It will be if they refuse to accept it, these companies will have to pay the price.”

While it’s still too early to strike, Crabtree-Ireland said she doesn’t rule out strikes in other cities where some of these streaming venues are located, as read at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.

“Wherever these companies are, this is to be expected,” he said.

Some grassroots representatives were concerned about how SAG-AFTRA would handle the lineup of streamers pulling movies and series from OTT services in the latest AMPTP contract talks.

Crabtree-Ireland told Deadline: “I don’t think this will be the point of our discussions, we are more focused on revenue sharing from streamers rather than specific projects as there are obviously too many factors involved. ,

“We have offerings on AVOD, but we have really focused on subscription and subscription streaming as our main focus. We’re not talking about profit sharing, we’re talking about revenue sharing.”

As she said during Drescher’s first Netflix strike this morning, Crabtree-Ireland reiterated that there has been no word from AMPTP on returning to talks since Wednesday night’s breakup.