extras fear for their jobs

In Hollywood it strike actors and screenwriters is not going to stop. Despite the recent meetings of representatives, for example, the Union of Scriptwriters (SPS) with representativesFilm and Television Producers Alliance (AMPTP), it seems that an agreement is still very hard to come by, and the health of cinema, caused by the dire consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, is still at risk. This is because, obviously, with the strike, all large productions, or at least all those projects in which AMPTP companies (and therefore not quite independent productions) participated, stopped.

In recent weeks, that is, since we started reporting on what is happening in Hollywood dreamland, we have mainly reported statements from big stars: we have told you about the fears of Tom Cruise and the words spoken by Stephen Amell, star ‘Arrow.

We told you about Will Smith’s position and that, for example, Meryl Streep. But Hollywood celebrities took to the streets, accepting the strike not only for their rights, but also for a united front. An actress like Meryl Streep, for example, has a reputation that gives her very strong bargaining power, so companies are always willing to compromise to get her. But young actors, those who are not famous, those who do not have such power, are forced to fight much harder. Therefore, even the stars are participating in the strike: they want to “cover” the backs of less wealthy colleagues (and therefore numerous donations to the fund of show business workers) and less well-known ones. Those who do not work much and often and do not have a regular income. Such as, add.

Anxiety of extras during the strike

And they’re right there additions those who have more reason to fear that their work, if not their existence in the world of Hollywood, will be completely erased with the spread of artificial intelligence, allowing productions to have many extras at minimal cost.

NPRe.g. reporting a case Alexandria Rubalcabawho worked as an extra (supporting actors, I background actors in the original definition) in the beautiful Disney series Wanda Vision. Her run lasted four weeks until the production staff called her and other extras to pose for a series of cameras with metal rings behind the lenses. The extras were asked to make different facial expressions. At this point, the production scanned their faces and bodies for about fifteen minutes to create digital copies, which are one of the focus of the strike today. Rubalcaba did not know how and to what extent his “avatar” would be used on screen. And besides, you won’t get paid for it. Using her image for Disney is virtually free and she can’t conclude anything. The actress, who is paid $187 a day for extra work, said no one asked her permission. And he declared:

“What if I don’t want to appear in MarioVision or SarahVision? I’m afraid that artificial intelligence will further cut down on extras for films. They won’t need us anymore.”

According to reports SoonDisney declined to comment on the news.