"The company now expects to exceed $1.7 billion in free cash flow for the third quarter of 2023, in part due to the strong performance of 'Barbie' as well as incremental impact from strike-related factors," the entertainment giant says in a regulatory filing.

“The company now expects to exceed $1.7 billion in free cash flow for the third quarter of 2023, in part due to the strong performance of ‘Barbie’ as well as incremental impact from strike-related factors,” the entertainment giant says in a regulatory filing.

  • Puzzle_Sluts_4Ever@lemmy.world
    191·
    10 months ago

    The pay raises are largely nothing burgers. Same with having a proper writers’ room and the like.

    The two main sticking points of the WGA/SAG strike are:

    1. Royalties/residuals. Currently, even if talent IS eligible for them, the streaming services are set up in a way that they will never get them. This comes up near constantly with stuff like “This person wrote Stranger Witcher Tiger King and lives in a cardboard box” style stories. THIS actually would impact (some of) the companies and studios to a very large degree. Like, it wasn’t Band of Brothers or Run Fatboy Run that made The Schwim rich as all hell. Same with most of the sitcom royalty who basically buy a new house every time TBS does a marathon.
    2. AI generated content. I’ve said it many times before, but the only outcome that is likely will be “All past performances are not eligible to be part of training data. Talent will have the option to allow their performance/work to be added to a training data set no less than N years after the first public release”… with a lot of coercion regarding how optional that is (if you thought “Agree to show your tits or we find someone else” was a problem…). This has no real impact currently but will be MASSIVE amounts of money in N years and studios likely expect to be valued based on how much training data they will have.
    • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
      81·
      10 months ago

      “All past performances are not eligible to be part of training data. Talent will have the option to allow their performance/work to be added to a training data set no less than N years after the first public release”

      And how can that ever be truly ensured/compliance confirmed?

      Studios can pinky swear then somehow, oops, some third party that they totally didn’t know about their practices uses the off limits material to generate AI results which are then sold to the studio.

      • Puzzle_Sluts_4Ever@lemmy.world
        51·
        10 months ago

        The exact same way software licensing and corporate espionage work? If there is reason to be suspicious, paperwork and an investigation eventually happen. So in this case, if suddenly we see someone with John Wayne’s smile, people are gonna say “what the fuck?”

        And this will likely be a legal issue at least on the same level as the DMCA (if not the actual DMCA…) because studios will have a LOT to lose if smaller companies steal their catalog and take away their competitive advantage.

    • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
      112·
      10 months ago

      It’s unfortunate that these are the sticking points for the union, because they seem like really bad hills to die on long term.

      Residuals are antiquated in the streaming world, gettingpaid up front is a far better deal. If you want recurring income, negotiate a stock grant. Residuals are chasing a shrinking pile of money competing with 40 years of content. Prestige TV makes headlines, but a big reason streamers aren’t releasing numbers is because those shows are crap for engagement. Shows like Friends are still likely dominating the streaming count.

      AI is coming whether you like it or not, they would be far better off negotiating a way to include AI as it advances rather than seek to ban it. The fair use argument is really strong for model builders. Actors and writers are better off working with current producers to create a path forward for AI, because a complete ban is likely to result in an outside company coming in and disrupting the market. Yes the stance producers started with is extreme on this subject matter, but the actors and writers are similarly extreme.