DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union on Thursday called a strike against video game companies that use actors’ images or voices in games, echoing its broader strike against television and movie studios last year. The strike will start at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time on Friday, after more than a year and a half of negotiations. Until the latest strike is resolved, members of the 160,000-person union will no longer “act” in video games produced by Activision Blizzard, WB Games, Electronic Arts and seven other companies covered by an interactive-media agreement. SAG-AFTRA’s demands are similar to those it sought from television and movie studios last year: higher wages and job protections from the threat of artificial intelligence. “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I.

Persons: “ We’re, ” Fran Drescher, ” Organizations: SAG, Activision Blizzard, WB, Electronic Arts

☆ SAG-AFTRA requests approval to strike against video game companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —SAG-AFTRA’s National Board is unanimously seeking permission from union members to strike against a number of video game makers ahead of negotiations resuming later this month. The union’s initial contract with major video game companies, the Interactive Media Agreement, was extended past its initial expiration date last fall as SAG-AFTRA “negotiated with the companies for critical terms (members) need,” the union said Friday in a news release. Eligible SAG-AFTRA members will be able to vote on authorizing a strike until September 25 at 5 p.m. PT, the evening before discussions resume. “The interactive nature of games are built upon the use of such technologies,” a source familiar with the companies’ negotiations told CNN. We’re not trying to upend the way video games are made,” the negotiator said.

Persons: AFTRA “, “, ” Fran Drescher, AFTRA, ”, Audrey Cooling, Duncan Crabtree, We’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, SAG, AFTRA’s, Interactive, Alliance, Television Producers, CNN, “, Activision, Epic Games, WB Games, WB, Warner Bros . Locations: New York

☆ In Hollywood, the Strikes Are Just Part of the Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Brooks Barnes | More About Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Existential hand-wringing has always been part of Hollywood’s personality. But the crisis in which the entertainment capital now finds itself is different. They joined 11,500 already striking screenwriters, who walked out in May over similar concerns, including the threat of artificial intelligence. Actors and writers had not been on strike at the same time since 1960. “Now it’s a walled-in vacuum.”

Persons: wringing, ’, ” Fran Drescher

Trouble in TinseltownIt’s happening: America’s $134 billion movie and TV industry has ground to a halt after the Hollywood actors’ union voted to strike, joining screenwriters and shutting down virtually all productions. The move reflects the growing aggressiveness of the American labor movement, which has been battling against Starbucks, Amazon, UPS and others. The actors’ union blasted studios for refusing to bend on key issues, including higher payouts from streaming titles and clear limits on the use of artificial intelligence. Shame on them!”The studios argue that the unions’ demands are unrealistic, given the challenges the entertainment industry faces, from streaming to fallout from the pandemic. “This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Bob Iger, Disney’s C.E.O., said on CNBC yesterday.

Persons: ’, ” Fran Drescher, Bob Iger, Disney’s Organizations: Hollywood, Starbucks, SAG, CNBC Locations: Amazon, —

Search resuls for: "” Fran Drescher"

4 mentions found