John Cusack says film studios are a “criminal enterprise” after new AI proposal

Nick Viall is spilling the beans on his “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” co-star Tom Sandoval.

Hollywood’s potential misuse of artificial intelligence is a “deadly cocktail” and a “poison” that needs to be strictly regulated, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in the guild’s latest strike podcast.

News broadcasters aren’t on strike, but their SAG-AFTRA steering committee is standing behind the actors and performers who are. “The world is watching,” the committee said in a statement Wednesday, and urged a “quick and productive resolution to the strike.”

Luc Besson’s DogMan has become one of the first films to receive a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that will allow talent to do press during the upcoming festival season. Actors will be allowed to promote the pic at its upcoming premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

In the wake of yesterday’s upbeat news that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the WGA are heading back for talks this Friday, SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says that as far as actors go, it’s still crickets from the producers.

SAG-AFTRA responded to Sarah Silverman’s criticism over the union allowing certain projects to film amid its strike with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over labor disputes.

posted a health update Sunday claiming that she was “lucky to be alive” after she received a small gift from her manager, Guy Oseary, while surrounded by loved ones.According to the singer’s Instagram account, the present was a Polaroid taken by Andy Warhol of artist Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson’s face painted on it. “If you zoom into this picture I am holding you will see a -polaroid taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson’s face painted on it,” wrote Madonna, 64. “A perfect triangle of Brilliance.”“Artist who touched so many lives including my own.

Sarah Silverman isn’t so pissed off any more about the interim agreements that SAG-AFTRA has been handing out, but the comedian is still pretty “cynical” about the whole thing.

It’s been 87 days since the writers hit the picket lines and 14 days since the actors joined them, yet the divisions between the guilds and the studios remain as deep as ever. 

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Two unions are on strike and there are no plans to restart negotiations with either of them, leaving Hollywood in limbo for the foreseeable future. The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have both said they are open to talking, but that the studios refuse to engage on their core issues. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, meanwhile, has said that the unions have been unwilling to drop items that are non-starters, like a demand for a share of streaming revenue and a minimum staffing level for TV writers.

Readers, rejoice — Bowen Yang has returned to “Las Culturistas” following a brief mental health break.

SAG-AFTRA will hold a mass rally in Times Square on Tuesday morning. It’s expected to be the biggest rally in NYC since the strike began on July 14. Celebs scheduled to attend the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” rally include Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Lauren Ambrose, Christine Baranski, Matt Bomer, Tituss Burgess, Liza Colón-Zayas, Gregory Diaz, Jennifer Ehle, Nancy Giles, Danai Gurrira, Jill Hennessy, Marin Hinkle, Stephen Lang, Arian Moayed, Wendell Pierce, Corey Stoll and Merritt Wever.

SAG-AFTRA has granted more waivers in recent days that give permission to indie projects to shoot during the current strike, including the independent film The Summer Book starring Glenn Close. Other recent projects that will be allowed to shoot include the TV series Underdeveloped and Sight Unseen.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The perils of artificial intelligence to the entertainment industry came to San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, with SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland joining a panel of voice actors organized by NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors, to discuss the specific hazards AI is already posing to the profession. “We’ve got to reject the idea that this is just something that’s going to happen to us and we can’t say anything about it,” Crabtree-Ireland said at the outset of the panel, about whether AI could devastate the entertainment industry. “I think it definitely could, the question is whether we’re going to let that happen.”

EXCLUSIVE: For those awards strategists wondering whether stars from indie U.S. films can promote at the fall film festival troika, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says “We’re looking at that issue.”

Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd’s “Death of a Unicorn” will continue to shoot despite the writers and actors strike that’s currently affecting Hollywood. The film is a part of 39 independent productions that received approval from the unions to continue to shoot.Emmys: Jenna Ortega makes history as youngest Latina nominee for ‘Wednesday’Diego Luna, Selena Gomez and more Emmy snubsA post shared by Jenna Ortega (@jennaortega)Variety reports that the film is excluded from the strike due to the fact that its production studio, A24, isn’t affiliated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

It’s Day 6 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 79 of the WGA strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the strike, after confirming that they are not tied to AMPTP companies. The list includes two projects from A24, the independent production company: “Mother Mary,” starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and “Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, which is set to begin shooting soon in Hungary. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said a spokesperson for the company. The projects also include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” starring Matthew McConaughey and “The Chosen,” a TV series about the life of Jesus.

Gigi Hadid is enjoying her vacation in the Cayman Islands following her arrest last week. The 28-year-old model and her friend, Leah McCarthy, were arrested and then released in the Cayman Islands after customs officials found marijuana in their possession. «Gigi was traveling with marijuana purchased legally in New York City with a medical license. It has also been legal for medical use in Grand Cayman since 2017.

Black Mirror.On Thursday, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) officially declared its intention to go on strike, with one of the many areas of concern for the union being the use of AI within the industry.During a press conference, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had made a so-called “groundbreaking” proposal that, with the use of AI, would allow the likenesses of film and television background performers to be used indefinitely.“They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation,” he said (via Reuters). “So if you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”Many have since noted that the proposal is eerily reminiscent of the season six Black Mirror episode ‘Joan Is Awful’, in which actors and members of the public have their likeness used in AI-generated TV shows.This scene in Black Mirror's 'Joan is Awful' about how entertainment companies could control a person's likeness and use it as they desire, including data from cellphones, is frightening — and according to the SAG-AFTRA negotiations, not too far off from reality.Chilling.