How Black Mirror Predicted AMPTP's Proposal To Use AI-Likeness For Actors
"Black Mirror" is eerily good at predicting situations or technology that then end up becoming far too real. Now, the latest season of Charlie Brooker's dystopian drama predicted yet another entertainment industry issue: that of artificial intelligence and how it can be used to place actors into projects without their actual presence required.
During a press conference where the Screen Actors Guild confirmed that they would strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television alongside the Writer's Guild, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said that the AMPTP included a line in their offer — which they deemed "historic," apparently in a good way — that indicated background actors could be "scanned," only for their likenesses to possibly be used in perpetuity despite the actor only being paid for a single day of work. Crabtree-Ireland confirmed this while answering questions from journalists, and he and Drescher made it clear that SAG-AFTRA is taking a firm stance against the AMPTP at this moment, which marks the first time two guilds are striking simultaneously in over 60 years.
There are a lot of problems within the entertainment industry that led to this total breakdown and historic alliance and strike between the SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, but the advent of AI is certainly one of them. Actors are understandably afraid that they could essentially be replaced by artificial likenesses... and in the Season 6 premiere of "Black Mirror," titled "Joan is Awful," actress Salma Hayek-Pinault faces that exact issue.
Joan is Awful is all about companies using your likeness without full permission & compensation
In the series premiere, the titular and allegedly awful Joan — played by "Schitt's Creek" standout Annie Murphy — goes about her day, firing an employee from her company and meeting up with her ex-boyfriend behind her fiancé's back. After all of that, she settles in with said fiancé to watch some TV on their favorite streaming service, Streamberry (an obvious dupe of Netflix, right down to the "tudum" noise), only to find a new series called "Joan is Awful." The two watch, horrified, as Salma Hayek-Pinault plays Joan and lives out the exact day she just experienced, including the meet-up with said ex-boyfriend. Joan is obviously horrified and confused, and she tries to figure out exactly why the TV is depicting her real life.
Shenanigans, predictably, ensue, and eventually, Joan tracks down Hayek-Pinault herself — the Academy Award winner plays a version of herself in the episode — and Hayek-Pinault isn't happy either. See, when Joan figures out that she allowed Streamberry to use her likeness by not fully reading an agreement before signing it, Hayek-Pinault experiences the same issue, as her contract with Streamberry stipulates that they can use her likeness as well... and she's not thrilled when Joan starts doing increasingly depraved things to get her attention. The two eventually unravel Streamberry's entire gambit, but the point stands: both Joan and Hayek-Pinault found their likenesses used without their full consent thanks to some truly screwed-up contracts.
The entertainment industry has already used the likenesses of deceased actors... and some won't stand for it
It's obviously important to double and triple-check all contracts before signing them — and recently, Marvel star Samuel L. Jackson said he actively crosses out parts of contracts that discuss using his likeness "in perpetuity." As Jackson told Rolling Stone, when he gets Marvel or Lucasfilm contracts that seem suspect to him when it comes to using his likeness after his death, he just... gets rid of those parts. "When I get a contract and it has the words 'in perpetuity' and 'known and unknown' on it: I cross that s*** out," Jackson told the magazine. Dolly Parton recently told The Independent something similar when it comes to an AI version of her, saying, "I think I've left a great body of work behind. I have to decide how much of that high-tech stuff I want to be involved [with] because I don't want to leave my soul here on this earth."
Stars are right to be concerned about this technology — especially people like Jackson, who are involved in huge franchises that have used technology to do everything from fudge someone's age to bring someone "back" from the dead. Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing have both been recreated in "Star Wars" projects after their death, and older actors are constantly de-aged in projects now, whether it's in "Avengers: Endgame," "The Mandalorian," or even prestige fare like "The Irishman." As the tech advances, it stands to reason that a real-life "Joan is Awful" situation could potentially arise.
Fran Drescher and SAG-AFTRA are taking no prisoners when it comes to the AMPTP
As soon as SAG-AFTRA came to an agreement and decided to join the WGA on strike, president Fran Drescher gave a blistering speech directed at the AMPTP, making it perfectly obvious that the actors' guild won't back down until the AMPTP gives in to demands. "The eyes of the world — and particularly the eyes of labor — are upon us," Drescher said to reporters in a press conference that was live-streamed throughout its duration. "I can't believe how far apart we are on so many things... [They] say they're losing money left and right while they give hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs... At some point, we have to say no, we're not going to take it anymore."
"We came together with the largest strike authorization vote in our union's history," Drescher confirmed, with the full might of the guild behind her. Later in her speech, she was blunt about the state of affairs: "Eventually, the people break down the gates of Versailles, and then it's over!"
The strike goes into effect at midnight sharp on Friday, July 14, at which point all ongoing press tours will cease — as will filming for actors striking — and the performers will take to the picket lines. This is one of the most impactful moments in the entertainment industry in years... and with two guilds firmly against the AMPTP, it remains to be seen whether or not the studios will start taking their respective demands more seriously.