John Cusack calls AI a criminal enterprise amid strike: 'That's not a labour deal - it's a labour fatwa'

The SAG-AFTRA strike has begun, and actors have joined the ongoing writer's strike, which started two months ago. The union of actors began the strike on Thursday (July 12th) after SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), failed to reach a deal.

A number of actors are reacting to strikes and speaking out in support of their colleagues in the fight for fair pay and the use of artificial intelligence. Joining the long list of actors,John Cusack has reacted to the strike as he slammed the studio's greed.

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Here's what John has to say about the strike

Taking to his Twitter handle, John penned a series of tweets in which he called out the greediness of the studios and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). He also addressed the use of AI in the future.

Sharing a story from his young days when a studio refused to pay him a percentage of the film’s box office collection, Chusack explained the greediness of the studio that he became a victim of. The actor wrote that he starred in Cameron Crowe’s classic 1989 teen drama, Say Anything, the movie that performed well at the box office and established John as the star. Despite all of this, the actor was not paid well.

Sharing it as a fun fact, he wrote, "The greed is almost a legendary comic trope," he wrote. "One fun fact - when I was a youngin- I did a film (with a boom box ) and somehow I got points - net not gross. Never expected to see any money - but the film became quite famous - so about 10 years ago - I looked again at the financial statements they were obligated to report - and to my shock - they claimed they had LOST 44 million dollars on the film."

"I thought wow, I almost bankrupted Fox! (not really)," John continued. "The film cost about 13 million to make - and money spent to release was minimal at the time - 30 years in - that film lost millions every year! A neat accounting trick don't ya think?"

Artificial intelligence is a 'copyright identity theft - criminal enterprise'

Addressing the use of Artificial intelligence, which has been seen as a threat to both writer's and actors' livelihoods, the actor wrote, "Studios wanna have extras work one day, scan them – own their likeness forever – and eliminate them from the business," Cusack wrote.

"Do you think they will stop with extras ? That’s what AI is – a giant Copyright identity theft - criminal Enterprise. 'We had no idea this would happen!' they will say in 10 years when the scope and scale of the plunder is revealed. Of course they did - it's the business model. The algorithms serve the profit motive - AI savage capitalism. Blame it on the algorithms you create to make more money. That's not a labor deal - it's a labor fatwa."

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Strike for their future

This is the first time in the history of the entertainment industry that the two main unions of actors and writers are protesting for their future. After unanimous voting, the Hollywood actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, has decided to go on strike following unsuccessful negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

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