Actors and Their Digital Replicas: Hollywood’s New Reality

Hollywood’s dystopian-sounding future is here, with AI the overriding issue for actors as they negotiated their new deal with the studios. Today, two actors on that SAG negotiating committee, Picard’s Michelle Hurd and actor Kevin E. West, walk host Elaine Low through new guardrails around “synthetic” performances, and how an actor can still get paid even when their replica is the one at work. The pair also unpack the new streaming residual “fund”, new intimacy coordinator rules, and what hair and makeup provisions mean for performers of color. As for criticism of the deal by some as it goes to a vote? “Everybody take a deep breath.” Transcript here. For more entertainment industry news, subscribe to The Ankler at theankler.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices