CAHokie

What is she into? Sometimes you can find a cover that matches an interest or that she would identify with.

On 9/7/2023 at 6:54 PM, drotto said:

I think current laws suggest that an individual owns their likeness and voice, so in essence we are all our own personal IP's. As such companies can not use them without permission. As such, the actors union should insure that companies can not sneak any language counter to that in any stock contracts. If anyone elects to sell their personal IP with full knowlwdge, that is one them. 

Yes, on all of the above. Really though, this could open up a new job classification. If you need AI faces you don’t need real actors or those with aspirations. Advertise it and pay normal people that don’t mind selling their likeness. Need a homeless character. Go find one and give them a contract to get scanned. Need a pretty blonde, same thing! 

On 9/7/2023 at 10:30 AM, fantastic_four said:

You'll have to explain a bit more about what Getty Images is protesting.  I've seen images with their watermarks around the web, but other than that I don't know what they do or what the nature of their protest would be.

I agree, actors still own their likeness as digital avatars just as they would their likeness as photographs, videos, or in any other medium.  Or at least that's what my educated guess would be as to how courts would interpret how a digital avatar falls under patent laws.  I'm also guessing this hasn't gone to court yet to say that for sure, but who knows, maybe there is trial precedent about actors owning their digital likeness.  If anyone knows of one please do share.

If the studios are claiming that digital actor avatars aren't the actor's intellectual property then that's surprising.  Do you recall who said that?  One of the studio heads I'm guessing?  I'm definitely interested to see if they tried to explain that position.  They may be referring to a lack of court precedent establishing that fact as I mentioned in my last paragraph.  Either way I can't begin to imagine their lawyers would ever let them use digital actor avatars without signing contracts with those actors, PARTICULARLY any actor that the camera does a close-up on with spoken lines.  Maybe they're skipping the contracts with extras since the monetary risk should be extremely small with them since they barely get paid, but even that seems at least somewhat risky if they're not getting them to sign their rights away.

I thought it was a simple misspelling and he meant protecting. “Protecting their IP” not protesting.

On 9/7/2023 at 4:20 AM, Bosco685 said:

 

That theory has been popping up for years. The two most interesting points would be how much a share and how fast would the regulators try to stop it.

On 9/6/2023 at 8:44 PM, Eclipse said:

Every day at work (when we had work) i see 50-75 extras all hoping to make it one day. They have big dreams and hope to get noticed to hopefully get at least a speaking line in something during the next tryout. Thinking they would want to sign this all away is ludicrous. And this has to end soon, i havent worked since mid June!

Rereading it, I am not for sure what you meant by the bolded section.

The issue is not so much them signing a contract giving away their likeness, that is their decision. (Though there should be guidelines and rules on it.) The main issue is that some are saying they are being told to get scanned with no contract/protections in place at all.

On 9/6/2023 at 8:57 PM, RobAnybody said:

George Clooney was an "extra" on The Facts of Life way back when.  Do you think he would have said "naaah... I'll pass on this minor role. I'm gonna be George Clooney in like 20 years"?

EDIT: fwiw: that was more directed @fantastic_four, rather than @Eclipse

Exactly. Eastwood, Stallone, Willis, Arnold, etc…. All started off in the background. All had big dreams but we all know that a very few make it big.
 

As @Eclipse said, there are dozens to a hundred on a set every day. Most will never even get a speaking role. Do they really have the option of saying no, Im not doing that because I’m going to be big some day. No of course not, because they need the job today and one tomorrow. 
 

I’m not saying AI should never be used, just that a set of rules need to be in place and followed. 

Hopefully…. Right now he is on Amazing Spiderman 8 and also reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. He loves both.

On 9/6/2023 at 7:57 PM, VintageComics said:

I agree. A GA book is as cool as an old classic car, guitar or a home at this point. 

Around 2010 I made the case on this forum that comic books had moved into the category of historical artifacts. There wasn't much of a consensus on that at the time but I think it's safe to say that the big books now are now certainly historic artifacts and the case can be made for MOST GA books now. 

When I was collecting in the 80's, the hobby was 50 years old.

When I joined this forum the hobby was 70 years old.

Comics were still junk and we were still considered nerds. 

In a decade the hobby will be a century old. Comics are no longer junk and we are now considered front runners. 

My how times change. Maybe now I can go bully the bullies that bullied me in grade schoo. 

I asked my kid if anyone he knows in school reads comic books and he said no. I hope the hobby doesn’t turn into collecting stamps and dies out after the older Millennials age out.  

On 9/6/2023 at 7:22 PM, drotto said:

Agree, this all will happen.  People just need to be incredibly careful with what they sign.  At minimum the studios have to clearly spell out if they are buying the rights to your likeness, and if they are, what are the terms, when can it be used, and how will that person get paid. I think it is somewhat far off for significant roles.

 

Some big names have in fact signed over their likeness in limited circumstances.  I believe Mark Hamill has done it in regards to Luke.

Yes, but I bet it was a carefully worded contract with stipulations and good pay. Not the SAG daily rate, we are scanning you, go stand in line or bounce out.

On 9/6/2023 at 7:12 PM, fantastic_four said:

No young actor serious about being an actor will ever sign a contract giving away their digital rights.  If you do you'll essentially be ending your career, or at least shortening it once fully-digital actors become practical.  And if you're young that's going to happen long before you'd be ready to retire.

All of this applies to the current generation of kids in EVERY career.  There are a lot of white collar jobs I'd be extremely skeptical about sending my kids to college for from now on because we aren't far from them becoming obsolete just as actors are having to face.

You…just changed it to now they have a contract to sign instead of just showing up and being told they are being scanned. I think I understand what it’s like for some to debate with Roy now.   

Btw….They didn’t start off as extras or minor roles for and giggles. Its how most get into the industry and learn how filming scenes and the movements work.

On 9/6/2023 at 6:52 PM, fantastic_four said:

So yes, real actors won't be starting out as extras anymore.

This….is not how things work.

On 9/6/2023 at 5:59 PM, fantastic_four said:

Why does it need to be stopped?  If it's not in the contract then yes, it has to be stopped.  But if that's the case a strike isn't the resolution, a civil lawsuit is.  I'm guessing since this is a strike instead of a lawsuit there has been language in their contracts giving the studios free reign to use their digital avatar in the future.

Big stars would just never sign that contract.  I don't see why such a contract shouldn't be allowed for unknown actors.  If they care they don't sign, if they don't they sign.  If you're an extra why would you care?  You're not doing it for a living anyway so I would imagine most extras would sign their digital selves away--and in most cases amused if they ever see themselves used in another way other than the scenes they explicitly shot.

I don’t ask this as an insult, but to know where you are coming from. Have you ever been involved in a Hollywood production? Some sets are like a family, others are….not.

You do realize that just about every actor was an extra or unknown at some point right? Imagine if you could have scooped up the rights to Denzel, DiCaprio, or Pacino before they were household names.

Of course big stars would never sign it. They are already stars. But what about the person on their first role that is scared and do whatever is asked of them? They are trying to make it in the industry and they have a good memory. Hollywood may seem big but It isn’t. If someone likes you because of their interaction with you today you will get work tomorrow. If they don’t….well have fun working at Starbucks.

On 9/6/2023 at 6:07 PM, fantastic_four said:

Yes, real human extras will eventually become completely obsolete.  So what? 

You realize that it also sets the mood and atmosphere right? Talk to some big name actors and they will tell you they need that to get into the role. No one wants to do scenes in a baron sterile environment with nothing around them but empty chairs. 

On 9/6/2023 at 4:51 PM, Bosco685 said:

That's the bigger concern if it was me.

You paid me at a point in time to scan my image. So the studio now assumes in perpetuity they own your likeness and owe you nothing further.

Exactly! I think this article breaks it down perfectly. Apologies if someone already posted it. There are a few AI threads going on.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1190605685/movie-extras-worry-theyll-be-replaced-by-ai-hollywood-is-already-doing-body-scan#:~:text=Grace Widyatmadja%2FNPR-,While working as a background actor on the the Disney%2B,create digital replicas of themselves.
 

I don’t think selling the rights to ones image is the issue. That’s moving the goal post a bit. Its the scanning and using someone and only paying them for the original day’s work.

On 9/6/2023 at 4:38 PM, drotto said:

I do not like it, but if an actor signs the consent to allow the scanning, is that not their decision? What if the studio offers them a residual or fee each time the scan is used? From what I understand, in existing cases like Tarkin in Rouge One, the family signed off on it, and the estate was payed for likeness. I think several actors have already signed the use of their likeness over to studios. 

I think being paid for it is the key. Not we hired you for today, but by the way we need a scan we can use anytime. Don’t like it, go home.

(Not saying that happens but it needs to be stopped from happening). 

On 9/6/2023 at 4:18 PM, fantastic_four said:

The AI moratorium is the long-term concern.  What will be different in 3 years when a hypothetical new contract ends?  Nothing, aside from AI screenplay writers being even better.

They just need to drop that part of their demands.  Automation has been putting humans out of work for thousands of years.  What is up with Hollywood writers thinking they deserve an immunity to it that nobody else has?  

What about people being scanned and added to scenes they were never in? That’s a hard no.

I enjoy going back and watching old 80s and 90s movies, some that I don’t remember ever seeing before.

On 9/6/2023 at 5:11 AM, VintageComics said:

Thoughts?

I have boxes and boxes of “real” drek they are welcome to buy.

On 9/5/2023 at 8:18 PM, VintageComics said:

Are you saying I need to step up my game? 

Uh….no. You’re good.

On 9/5/2023 at 6:39 PM, ganni said:

Somebody in this thread is not who he/she  seem to be.... 

A.I.  ? 

So, you're saying there is some "artificial" intelligence in here? You may be on to something! 

On 9/5/2023 at 7:15 PM, COI said:

Only a bot could amass 100K+ posts on a comic book message board.

That’s over 20 years though. and he’s only in the 3rd spot. If we break it down by posts per year, we have been infiltrated for years! 

The scanning of the internet for rare collectibles is something I never thought of. It could scan Craigslist, Ebay, Facebook, etc and find rare items that someone listed without knowing it. A rare vase or crystal figure  listed for $20 that is actually worth thousands.  It could tag it and send an alert to check it out. 

On 9/1/2023 at 9:20 PM, VintageComics said:

Folks, we are watching the changing of an era in real time with the advent of AI. 

Yes, but maybe not for the better