Bamaman wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 10:17 pm
Wouldn’t Ken be in SAG due to his cameo on Mayim’s sitcom?
Exceptions can be made, I don't think Stephen Hawking joined an acting guild, but I dunno. Buck Showalter apparently had to become a SAG member for his Seinfeld cameo: https://www.mlb.com/news/buck-showalter ... -mets-game
I believe you can play yourself without joining the union. If you've ever watched Saturday Night Live, whenever they have a celebrity host who isn't an actor, all that celebrity does is play himself or herself. Michael Jordan the first time he hosted even.
Was Elon Musk playing himself here?
Was Rudy Giuliani playing himself when he did drag on SNL?
Apparently you can work 30 days on union projects before you're required to join.
But: SAG-AFTRA is now one union, so I'm surprised if Ken hasn't had to join.
Ken actually already crossed the picket line by filming Masters past the strike date. So that's a done deal regardless of what is done with the last week of filming.
I'm surprised you're taking any interest in this whatsoever, considering your general political leanings.
Unless you're being a troll.
In which case, stop being a troll.
I'm not a troll. If anyone is being a provocateur here, it is Wil Wheaton. I'm not taking a position on what's happening in the strike or anyone's reaction to it. This thread is titled "Jeopardy in the media" and I am sharing articles about Jeopardy that I see in the media. Some of them contain useful information and some are clickbaity. I don't endorse any article or the views contained in them simply because I'm sharing them in this thread.
Anyway, you don't know anything about my political views or my views on unions. I might be registered for a different party than you think I am. I might be a current or former union member. We have a long tradition in this country of Labor Republicans, Reagan Democrats, etc. You don't know anything about my position on ai, which is largely what the strike is about. I might not even have a position on AI and might only have views that are evolving.
Certainly as a member of this forum of long standing, I have a right to my own opinion, even on things that don't pertain to the board. No member should face an inquisition for posts that don't even violate board rules.
I'd rather cuddle then have sex. If you're into grammar, you'll understand.
alietr wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 5:50 pm
I think Mayim is right to honor the strike. And with all of the tournaments, it's clear that TPTB don't care a rat's tushy about 10 more people making their dream come true.
I certainly have no problem with Mayim's or Ken's stance. So long as he's using already-written boards (and I think that's the case), then big whoop. If he were the one writing/assisting on new, unwritten ones, then that would be a different story.
My view exactly. Anyone know for sure whether these games will use pre-written boards?
I guess I'm a little iffy about Mayim's stance insofar as it throws Ken under the bus.
The idea that one's personal political views would somehow preclude one from mentioning this topic is a complete non sequitur. The strike has already altered the hosting schedule so the impact on the show is therefore tangible and worthy of comment here.
The idea that the strike is "largely about" AI is interesting. While it's absolutely true (or ought to be true, for anyone with a little foresight), I wonder if the WGA leadership would have said the same in the weeks leading up to when the strike started, or would even make that statement now. I read with interest the negotiation progress summary literature the guild prepared for its membership. While AI was on the sheet, it was pretty far down on the list. The important demands involved minimum numbers of writers in writing rooms, royalties from streaming, and paying writers to be present on set. Most writers I heard voice their concerns spoke out against the transformation of the job from (well-paid) steady work to (underpaid) gig work. All of these supposedly important demands are dwarfed, in my view (and in the views of some of the more perspicacious guild members), by the existential threat posed by generative AI. What is more, the entire industry and every job in it is at risk, to a degree dictated by time from present day, from synthetic media. Not just writers, but actors, cinematographers, grips, casting directors, costumers, electricians, location scouts, set designers and builders, production designers, craft services people, the whole lot of them could be out of work within a generation when it's just as easy to generate a feature film or a TV series by text prompt and when such can be done on-the-fly, in real time, and customized to the preferences of the individual viewer.
My daughter's favorite entertainment, presently, is My Story Animated, a series she finds on YouTube. It's not serialized storytelling and the plot of every "episode" is identical but for minor variations and details, or at least highly formulaic. It wouldn't shock me if you were to tell me that the entire show was generated by an AI; at least in principle, it could be. Even if that weren't true today, very similar entertainment will be capable of being AI-generated within the decade. This is bad news for all the guilds and for Hollywood as a construct. By the time my daughter is old enough to achieve her dream of being a "story writer" (whatever that may mean to her), there likely won't be any such profession, because there won't be an industry to support it.
The only encouraging line: “Believe me of all people: I was the producer of Millionaire when it expanded from a special event that happened two, three times a year for 11 episodes and then became—you know, in three years we made 363 prime-time editions of Millionaire and it was just overexposed.”
Now if he only acts like he recognizes this ...
(I wasn't going to post this, but the announcement about another celebrity tournament iced it.)
Bamaman wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2023 4:03 pm
Maybe he’s just backing up Mayim.
If so, he could do that without sounding like an extra on the Sopranos.
Given the exodus from Hollywood, it'll be interesting to see how this shakes out. There are a lot of professionals who are very good at what they do to create movies and television. But less and less is being made in Hollywood these days and the move to streaming means theaters are less and less inclined to rely on a small number of relationships.
Jeopardy is perhaps a bigger player than I had thought. Poor Ken. He might sleep with the ichthyologists after all is said and done.
Wheaton comes off as a bully to me. He's picking on someone with no clout in that town and who can't do anything to strike back. Ken may be doing the wrong thing in Wil's eyes, and maybe Wil's right. But one thing is certain: Ken stands to lose a lot more in this fight. Wheaton stands to lose somewhere between effectively nothing and actually nothing. Jennings stands to lose the only job he's ever wanted in that godforsaken town and the only job he was ever going to be offered. This is a crap move on Wheaton's part. It's self-righteous sniping from a place of safety.
