Tom Cruise warned against AI during SAG-AFTRA negotiating session
Tom Cruise joined a Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) negotiation session last month, advocating for the union’s proposals against artificial intelligence.
The actor appeared via a Zoom call in a bid to bring his expertise to the table in discussions with film and television studios for a new contract. Cruise’s involvement was seen as unprecedented, as no other actors of his standing had previously taken part in such negotiations, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
However, despite the Mission: Impossible actor’s backing, the negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell through. Following five weeks of discussions, the guild’s contract expired last week, leading SAG-AFTRA to call a strike on its members.
As the strike entered its third day, SAG-AFTRA released its contract proposals along with the studios’ responses. The guild accused the studios of “repeated stonewalling and delays,” suggesting that “they intentionally dragged their feet.” As of yesterday, however, the union approved production on 39 independent shoots.
The union also proposed protections for “human-created work,” requiring consent and compensation from an actor before their voice or likeness is replicated by Artificial Intelligence or when a “digital replica” is created. These were among the issues that Cruise lobbied for during the negotiation session, with the A-lister having particular insight into the matter thanks to the central premise of Dead Reckoning Part One.
The Top Gun: Maverick actor also voiced his support for SAG-AFTRA’s call for better pay for stunt coordinators and the need to eliminate their exclusion from residuals from network reruns and high-budget streaming shows. Moreover, he called for regulations to ensure stunt coordinators receive either overtime or rest between workdays to address excessively long hours on set.
Cruise also requested that SAG-AFTRA allow actors to promote their films even during the strike. He highlighted the precarious state of movie theatres struggling to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic and argued that promoting films also benefits actors.
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