At issue was the use of artificial intelligence, or AI. According to the report, superstar Cruise joined a negotiating session in June to discuss concerns about the use of AI to replace actors and to speak in support of stunt performers, who are also part of SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 members. The Mission: Impossible star famously performs his own stunts. SAG-AFTRA did not respond to a request for comment on the report and a representative for Tom Cruise declined to comment.
In a statement to CNN, the AMPTP said it had offered actors “a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likeness.” But SAG-AFTRA has argued that studios want to use AI to eliminate acting jobs by scanning and creating digital likenesses to use in perpetuity without fair compensation. In a press conference last week, Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, said actors would be “in trouble” if unions and studios don’t hammer out an AI policy that works for everyone.