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There may soon be another actors' strike in Hollywood – this time against the video game industry.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland weighed in on that possibility during a Saturday panel discussion at SXSW while providing an update on the union's negotiations on the Interactive Media Agreement.
“We're currently in talks with all the major game studios, but the biggest challenge…is AI,” he said in a Q&A hosted by editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. fast companya work that deals with the intersection of Hollywood and artificial intelligence.
He added: “We have permission to strike on that contract and at this point there is at least a 50-50 chance that we will end up going on strike…next four… Overcome these basic AI problems because you can't strike in six weeks. ”
It's been more than a year since the Guild's video game agreement, known as the Interactive Media Agreement, was extended beyond its original expiration date. SAG-AFTRA's last strike against gaming companies lasted 183 days from 2016 to 2017.
In September, members approved authorization to strike on this current contract. Voter turnout was 98.32%. A total of 34,687 members voted, with 27.47% of eligible voters voting.
The Guild's Board of Directors and Bargaining Committee had already voted unanimously to recommend the approval vote, which required the approval of 75% of voting members to pass. Because of its overwhelming support, the national committee has the power to call a strike at any time if negotiations break down.
Meanwhile, the guild continues to recalibrate after a 118-day strike against Hollywood studios to achieve its latest film and television deals, and some accomplishments regarding the language regulating artificial intelligence. raised.
Many of the issues between the two contracts are similar, such as wages and artificial intelligence. Chief contracting officer Ray Rodriguez previously said the guild was working on negotiating language to prevent “exploitative uses of AI.”
The 10 companies that are likely to go on strike are as follows:
- Activision Productions Co., Ltd.
- Blind Light LLC,
- Disney Character Voice Co., Ltd.
- Electronic Arts Productions Co., Ltd.
- Epic Games Co., Ltd.
- Formosa Interactive LLC,
- Insomniac Games Inc.
- Take-Two Productions Co., Ltd.
- VoiceWorks Productions Co., Ltd., and
- WB Games Co., Ltd.
