Justine Bateman on AI Actors, SAG-AFTRA, and Making New Films

SAG-AFTRA's Stance on AI Actors

• 🎭 The SAG-AFTRA union has stated its opposition to the replacement of human performers with AI, emphasizing that creativity should remain human-centered.
• 💡 Justine Bateman finds this stance baffling, noting that the union's previous contract negotiations in 2023 gave permission for signatories to use AI objects instead of human actors, with only a notification requirement.

The Reality of AI "Actors"

• 🤖 Bateman clarifies that there's no such thing as an "AI actress," but rather an AI object that looks human.
• ⚙️ These AI objects can work 24 hours a day, never get sick, and can be triple or quadruple booked, making them a dream for agencies.
• 📈 Examples like J. Crew's catalog, which is almost entirely AI-generated human-looking people, demonstrate the growing prevalence of AI in visual media.

Credo 23 and Making New Films

• 🎬 To address the potential audience desire to know if they are watching AI or human, Bateman founded Credo 23, offering a stamp to filmmakers indicating no generative AI was used in their projects.
• 🏆 The Credo 23 Film Festival showcases films made without AI, with Bateman asserting that filmmakers shouldn't need AI to create films.
• 🧠 She believes generative AI, being a regurgitation of past work, stifles creative forward motion and prevents the creation of truly new films.

Production Jobs and Film Tax Credits

• 🇺🇸 Bateman discusses the issue of production jobs leaving the U.S. and suggests that a national film tax credit could incentivize productions to shoot domestically.
• 💰 This would counter the attractive tax credits offered by other countries, making the U.S. a more competitive location for filmmaking, especially for films set in the U.S.

A Message to Hollywood

• ✨ Bateman advocates for making fresh, new films that are not bogged down by fleeting trends or specific moment-in-time concerns.
• 🌟 She encourages filmmakers to return to creating content that speaks to the human spirit, ideas that are true across time, and to be bold and true to their own creative DNA.