Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you've probably heard that there's a massive strike going on in the film industry in the US right now, with lots of actors and screenwriters participating with their full commitment. One of these is Bryan Cranston, nowadays best known as Walter White (but who will always be Tim Whatley to yours truly) in the TV series Breaking Bad.
It was during a strike march in New York yesterday that Cranston delivered a fiery speech that, among other things, lashed out at the apparently tone-deaf Disney CEO Bob Iger, but also criticised the use of AI and highlighted the need for new economic models for the entire film and TV industry.
"We've got a message for Mr. Iger [...] I know, sir, that you look [at] things through a different lens. We don't expect you to understand who we are. But we ask you to hear us, and beyond that to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living. And lastly, and most importantly, we will not allow you to take away our dignity! We are union through and through, all the way to the end!"
"Our industry has changed exponentially [...] We are not in the same business model we were even 10 years ago [...] And yet, even though they admit that is the truth in today's economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated! They want us to step back in time. We cannot and we will not do that."
Check out an extract (via The Independent) from the speech below.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JQ8TLUBM2k</social>