SAG-AFTRA brings in Tom Cruise to lead talks with major studios amid AI threat

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise took the lead in negotiating with major film and TV studios on behalf of SAG-AFTRA members.

The actors of Hollywood are currently expressing their concerns about being replaced by AI-generated versions of themselves. 

Cruise was brought in to discuss this issue with the studios and he also expressed his support for stunt performers during a negotiation session in June. SAG-AFTRA represents a total of 160,000 members, including Hollywood's stuntmen.

During the negotiations with studios and streaming services, SAG-AFTRA presented several proposals related to the use of generative AI in the entertainment industry.

The union aimed to establish stricter guidelines to ensure that performers give their consent and receive fair compensation when their performances are incorporated into this technology.

During the pre-strike negotiations, Cruise also urged SAG-AFTRA to allow actors to promotes their movies, bringing to light the crumbling position of theaters due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The union’s current strike rules, actors are barred from promoting movies that are backed by major studios, which means that Cruise can no longer promote his latest movie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, which is currently in theaters across the globe.

Despite Tom Cruise's involvement in the negotiations, the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) were unable to reach an agreement. 

This prompted actors to join writers on the picket line on Friday, causing the shutdown or delay of various productions, including Mission: Impossible 8.