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  • Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers

    Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers

    By Andrew MARSZAL

    Hollywood’s striking actors fear that artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs — but for many stunt performers, that dystopian danger is already a reality.

    From “Game of Thrones” to the latest Marvel superhero movies, cost-slashing studios have long used computer-generated background figures to reduce the number of actors needed for battle scenes.

    Now, the rise of AI means cheaper and more powerful techniques are being explored to create highly elaborate action sequences such as car chases and shootouts — without those pesky (and expensive) humans.

    Stunt work, a time-honored Hollywood tradition that has spanned from silent epics through to Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission Impossible,” is at risk of rapidly shrinking.

    “The technology is exponentially getting faster and better,” said Freddy Bouciegues, stunt coordinator for movies like “Free Guy” and “Terminator: Dark Fate.”

    “It’s really a scary time right now.”

    Studios are already requiring stunt and background performers to take part in high-tech 3D “body scans” on set, often without explaining how or when the images will be used.

    Advancements in AI mean these likenesses could be used to create detailed, eerily realistic “digital replicas,” which can perform any action or speak any dialogue its creators wish.

    Bouciegues fears producers could use these virtual avatars to replace “nondescript” stunt performers — such as those playing pedestrians leaping out of the way of a car chase.

    “There could be a world where they said, ‘No, we don’t want to bring these 10 guys in… we’ll just add them in later via effects and AI. Now those guys are out of the job.”

    But according to director Neill Blomkamp, whose new film “Gran Turismo” hits theaters August 25, even that scenario only scratches the surface.

    The role AI will soon play in generating images from scratch is “hard to compute,” he told AFP.

    “Gran Turismo” primarily uses stunt performers driving real cars on actual racetracks, with some computer-generated effects added on top for one particularly complex and dangerous scene.

    But Blomkamp predicts that, in as soon as six or 12 months, AI will reach a point where it can generate photo-realistic footage like high-speed crashes based on a director’s instructions alone.

    At that point, “you take all of your CG (computer graphics) and VFX (visual effects) computers and throw them out the window, and you get rid of stunts, and you get rid of cameras, and you don’t go to the racetrack,” he told AFP.

    “It’s that different.”

    – The human element –

    The lack of guarantees over the future use of AI is one of the major factors at stake in the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Hollywood’s writers, who have been on the picket lines 100 days.

    SAG-AFTRA last month warned that studios intend to create realistic digital replicas of performers, to use “for the rest of eternity, in any project they want” — all for the payment of one day’s work.

    The studios dispute this, and say they have offered rules including informed consent and compensation.

    But as well as the potential implications for thousands of lost jobs, Bouciegues warns that no matter how good the technology has become, “the audience can still tell” when the wool is being pulled over their eyes by computer-generated VFX.

    Even if AI can perfectly replicate a battle, explosion or crash, it cannot supplant the human element that is vital to any successful action film, he said, pointing to Cruise’s recent “Top Gun” and “Mission Impossible” sequels.

    “He uses real stunt people, and he does real stunts, and you can see it on the screen. For me, I feel like it subconsciously affects the viewer,” said Bouciegues.

    Current AI technology still gives “slightly unpredictable results,” agreed Blomkamp, who began his career in VFX, and directed Oscar-nominated “District 9.”

    “But it’s coming… It’s going to fundamentally change society, let alone Hollywood. The world is going to be different.”

    For stunt workers like Bouciegues, the best outcome now is to blend the use of human performers with VFX and AI to pull off sequences that would be too dangerous with old-fashioned techniques alone.

    “I don’t think this job will ever just cease to be,” said Bouciegues, of stunt work. “It just definitely is going to get smaller and more precise.”

    But even that is a sobering reality for stunt performers who are currently standing on picket lines outside Hollywood studios.

    “Every stunt guy is the alpha male type, and everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, we’re good,’” said Bouciegues.

    “But I personally have spoken to a lot of people that are freaked out and nervous.”

  • Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Hollywood A-listers donated $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA strikes

    Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Hollywood A-listers donated $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA strikes

    The SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood has reached its 21st day of protests against studios paying low residuals, poor working conditions as well as the use of A.I to replicate images of background actors. Studios like Warner Bros, Netflix and Disney have reportedly refused to negotiate with the union, with sources revealing the studios were planning to prolonge the protest till most of the actors become broke, according to ‘The Bear’ staff writer Alex O’Keefe.

    In the midst of the protests, multiple A-list celebrities have come forward to offer donations to keep the movement going. Variety reports that some of the A-list celebrities who contributed to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program were Meryl Streep, Dwyane Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amal and George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey.

    “Thanks to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars, the Foundation is preparing to bring aid and hope to thousands of journeymen actors facing tremendous economic hardship,” the foundation said in a statement released a few days ago.

    In a statement sent to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the strike and pay fair residuals to writers and actors, Meryl Streep recalled how she began her career working as a waitress and struggled to make ends meet:


    “I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Streep said in a statement. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.”

    “We stand ready to get back to the table and make a fair deal with the AMPTP,” George Clooney said. “Until then, I’m proud to be able to support the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and my fellow actors who may be struggling in this historic moment. We’ve stood on the shoulders of the likes of Bette Davis and Jimmy Cagney and it’s time for our generation to give something back. I can’t thank Courtney enough for his determination in putting this effort together by shedding light on the human toll happening right now, and how we can work together to alleviate some of the pain and suffering.”

  • When we almost had Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo Dicpario in the same movie

    When we almost had Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo Dicpario in the same movie

    Forget about Avengers Endgame or Barbie, the biggest movie ever….never got made. Two of the greatest actors this generation has seen, Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo DiCaprio, were once about to come together to give us the most incredible thriller film of our lives.

    Back in 2011, the Bollywood Badshah had signed on the film ‘Xtreme City’. A picture, purportedly a fan-made poster, broke the internet. Featuring Khan, DiCaprio, Karan Johar, the film was supposed to be produced by the legendary Martin Scorsese with Paul Schrader directing, and Mushtaq Sheikh writing. The film was suppose to pit Khan and DiCaprio against each other.

    Sheikh gushed about the once-in-a-lifetime powerful collaboration with NDTV, calling it “the best news I’ve heard in a long time”.

    “We are all elated. This is the best news I have heard in a long time. Martin loved the script and it meant the world to me as the writer of the film along with Paul Schrader. But when he comes in as the producer of the project, then I am thrilled as it takes the film to another level completely. Inshaallah, all goes well from here onwards. Fingers and all parts of the body crossed.”

    In a 2011 interview with Press Trust of India, Sheikh described the plot of the film as one where “both Indian and American protagonists are balanced human beings”:

    “It’s a different kind of film, one where both Indian and American protagonists are balanced human beings and the story treats them in their full complexity without either culture being diminished or taken for granted. It’s a cross-cultural thriller designed for both Bollywood and Hollywood. And if we get it right, this will be an attempt at true global entertainment.”

    However the project couldnt take off because both actors weren’t as committed to the project to continue it, and in an interview with Open Magazine, Schrader revealed that Shah Rukh wasn’t comfortable with doing a film he couldn’t control:

    “Well, in the end, I don’t think Shah Rukh wanted to make it. It was really up to him, and I just got the feeling that he was never going to be comfortable doing an international film that he didn’t control. You know that everything SRK does, he has total control over? So if he did something like this at an international level, he wouldn’t have that control.”

     “I think in the end he wasn’t that comfortable not being a hundred per cent in control. We did have a script, which was a hundred per cent paid for. We also had a meeting with SRK and Leo in Berlin, but neither of them actually ever committed. There was a lot of waiting—maybe they were waiting for each other to commit, but it never quite happened.”

    Shah Rukh Khan has also candidly discussed why he chose not to follow the path of other actors like Irrfan Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, to star in a Hollywood movie, while speaking in 2008 at the Berlin Film Festival.

     “My English is not good, if they give me a role of a dumb person who doesn’t speak, maybe then there’s a possibility. I am not trying to be modest, I am 42 years old. I am a little brown. I don’t have any USP as an actor, I don’t have any specialty. I don’t know Kung Fu, I don’t dance salsa, and I am not tall enough…I have seen the recent European films, there is no place for me there, no space for me. I don’t think am talented enough. Instead, I would like to continue working in India and take Indian cinema to the world.”

  • All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    In an unprecedent move, 160,000 Hollywood actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joined writers in strike against Hollywood after negotiations between the union and major studio networks failed.

    Much of Hollywood had shut down in May after writers went on strike, protesting against low pay as studios shifted to streaming, and the incorporation of A.I into writing scripts.

    The demands made by the actors union include fairer working conditions, and protection of actors against digital replicas like A.I and computer generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors. Another demand was that actors should receive better pay base and residuals- which are payments made to actors in television and films they have starred in.


    During the negotiations, network studios had offered what they called a ‘ground-breaking proposal’ that actors would be asked for consent when their digital replicas would be used in films, while background actors would be scanned and give one day’s pay for their digital image to be used on screen without their consent, which SAG said was unnacceptable:


    “They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity,” the SAG chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “If you think that’s a ground-breaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

    https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1679575964601180162?s=20

    The cast of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ walked off the red carpet at the London premiere on Thursday, including A-list actors like Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, when the strikes were announced in the US.

    Addressing the strike during a red carpet interview, Damon defended fellow actors who were protesting for studios to provide better pay, sharing that royalty payments are a way for working actors to survive:

    “We got to protect the people who are kind of on the margins. 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people (for) who residual payments carry them across that threshold. If those residual payments dry up, so does their healthcare, and that’s absolutely unacceptable.”

    Announcing the SAG-AFTRA strike, President of the union Fran Drescher, called this a sad decision, which will greatly impact both writers and actors.

    “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. You are systematically trying to figure out ways to carve us out of what is due us. Shame on you!”

  • ‘His brain couldn’t take it all’: co-star’s reveal Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy was under immense pressure

    ‘His brain couldn’t take it all’: co-star’s reveal Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy was under immense pressure

    As July 21 draws closer and closer to the Barbie vs Oppenheimer showdown, press interviews from the cast and crew members of both films have given some interesting insights into how the gruelling the process of making a cinematic masterpiece, especially for Cillian Murphy.

    Female lead Emily Blunt revealed to People Magazine that Murphy sat out most of the cast dinners because of the immense pressure the role had placed on him.

    “We were all in the same hotel in the middle of the New Mexican desert. We only had each other. Me and Matt [Damon] were roommates and we were like, ‘Let’s go to have dinner.’”

    “Murphy did not attend because the sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental,” Blunt said.

    Matt Damon added that the pressure to carry the film was placed entirely on Murphy’s shoulders

    “Of course he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us. He couldn’t. His brain was just too full. You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility, you feel it’s kind of overwhelming,” he told People.

    Oppenheimer is a true story based around the life of J Robert Oppenheimer and his efforts to make the first atomic bomb. Murphy stars in his first leading role on the big screen with the writer/ director, after working with him previously on the Batman Trilogy and Inception.


    Murphy revealed that Christopher Nolan gave him the opportunity to be the lead in the film through a cold-call offer:

    “He’s so understated and self-deprecating and, in his very English manner, just said, ‘Listen, I’ve written this script, it’s about Oppenheimer. I’d like you to be my Oppenheimer,’” Murphy said while speaking to The Associared Press. “It was a great day… We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect. It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a huge one.”

  • Riz Ahmed’s ‘Nimona’ hailed by critics as a unique queer fantasy

    Riz Ahmed’s ‘Nimona’ hailed by critics as a unique queer fantasy

    On Friday, Netflix dropped the highly anticipated animated fantasy film ‘Nimona’ which stars Pakistani-British actor Riz Ahmed, Chloe Grace Montez, Eugene Lee Yang as the main leads, and is adapted from the comics of the same name by ‘She-Ra’ creator ND Stevenson.

    Since its release, critics have hailed the film as a gorgeous queer fantasy that calls for acceptance and equality for the LGBTQ+ community, but mostly critics have hailed Ahmed’s and Mortez’s performances, as Entertainment Weekly praised it for the casual queer representation as the main lead Nimona is a gender non-conforming being, and the romantic relationship between two male knights.

    Speaking on the queer representation, Ahmed had said:

    “I understand this is a big win and a big moment representation-wise, and we’re all so proud of that. But I think those moments only feel like real wins when they’re not tokenized, when they are actually there because of the emotional truth of the character. When we are honoring these characters as human, that’s when it feels real, you know?”  

    Writing on the powerful vocal performance by Mortez as Nimona, Polygon hailed her for creating the duality between the rebellious side of the vibrant shape shifter, but also exploring her vulnerable side as an outcast who doesn’t feel like she can belong anywhere.

    Coming on the themes of queer representation, Mashable praised Nimona for being speaking on empowering the queer community:

    “Along with its unique animation and rollicking action sequences, Nimona digs into themes of individuality, identity, and acceptance that aim to speak directly and warmly to the queer community. At a time when LGBTQ rights and spaces continue to come under attack from bigoted legislation(opens in a new tab), Nimona cements itself not just as a great fantasy film, but as an important one as well.”

    Calling it a film that takes aim at the post 9/11 surveillance state, IGN praised Nimona for being “a tender and bold tale about challenging institutions, being a good ally, and the need to live as your true self.”

    Nimona takes place in a science fantasy world where Ballister Boldheart (played by Riz) is the first commoner to be enlisted in the presitigous Institute of Elite Knights, when an accident takes place during the knighting ceremony after which he is forced to flee for his life. Partnered with the rebellious Nimona (voiced by Chloe Grace Montez) a shape-shifter who has a desire to do something evil, they team up to clear his name and investigate the perpetuators behind the accident.

  • Bill Cosby accused of sexual assault by 9 more women

    Bill Cosby accused of sexual assault by 9 more women

    Disgraced Hollywood star Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by nine more women, according to a lawsuit filed in Nevada. Al-Jazeera reports that the women claimed they were drugged and assaulted by ‘The Cosby Show’ star between the years 1979 and 1992.

    According to the complaint filed in the US District Court of Nevada, the survivors were attacked in dressing rooms, hotels and in Cosby’s various homes. The suit demanded the former star pay damages for sexual assault and battery.

    The lawsuit has arrived after Nevada changed its law regarding the statue of limitations for adult survivors of sexual abuse to pursue civil cases.

    The law had previously given survivors a two-year window to file civil charges. But on June 2, Governor Joe Lombardo signed a bill “Justice for Victims of Crime”- which was met with praise from survivors of sexual assault and rape.

    “For years, I have fought for survivors of sexual assault, and today is the first time I will be able to fight for myself,” said Lise-Lotte Lublin, a school teacher and former model who has long pushed for statutes of limitations to be broadened in sexual violence cases.

    Lublin had initially filed a case against Cosby in 2014, alleging that the former comedian had summoned her to his hotel in 1989 to learn acting techniques. She recalled Cosby giving her spiked alcohol to “help her relax”. Lubin revealed she quickly lost consciousness, only reawakening in her own bed later on, not knowing how she got there.

    More than 60 women had accused Cosby in 2018 in Pennsylvania of sexual assault and rape through the inclusion of drugs, and he was convicted for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2014. However, in 2021 the Pennsylvanian Supreme Court overturned this suit, citing the fact that the former star was denied protection against self-incrimination.

    The court had stated that Cosby had been denied his “due process rights” when the prosecuters had ensured him that he won’t be charged if he confessed during the testament. When he revealed that he gave women quaaludes during sex, it became the key testimony during the criminal case that was overturned.

    Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, released a statement where he accused the women who filed a suit against Cosby of being motivated by their “addiction to massive amounts of media attention and greed.”

    “From this day forward, we will not continue to allow these women to parade various accounts … against Mr. Cosby anymore without vetting them in the court of public opinion and inside of the courtroom,”  Wyatt responded in a statement.

  • Zayn Malik, Simone Ashley to star in animated film ’10 lives’

    Two divas are coming together for global domination!

    Former One Direction star Zayn Malik and Bridgerton actress Simone Ashley are joining hands to star in the animated film ’10 Lives’. The film will also star veteran actor Bill Nighy and will be directed by Chris Jenkins.

    The film is about Beckett, a spoiled and pampered cat who takes all the lives he was given for granted. After a careless mistake costs him his ninth life, he begs for a last chance, and is given the 10th life but with certain conditions.

    Ashley had previously starred as Indira, one of the seven sisters in the live adaptation of ‘The Little Mermaid’. She is set to reprise her role as Kate Sharma in the upcoming third season of Bridgerton.

    Speaking exclusively to Deadline about the upcoming season, Ashley revealed that this is finally where Kate and Anthony start coming together to build their family, which she was excited about:

    “In Season 2, there was a lot of push and pull between Kate and Anthony, there were complications with the family, and then they find each other towards the end. I think everything is just starting. I’d like to see Kate just let go a bit more and play more in Season 3 and kind of swim in that circle of love together. I think they both deserve it.”

    “She’s in charge of the household now and she’s got big boots to put on. I think she can do it,” the ‘Sex Education’ star gushed. “I want to keep that softness and vulnerability to Kate, for sure, and she can share that with Anthony. I’m just excited for her to have a home and to have a family. I’m excited to see her grow. I think I’d like to see Kate being much braver and less headstrong and more heart strong.”

    Malik had sent fans in a frenzy when he announced the cover of the popular Jimi Hendrix song ‘Angel’.

    Recently, the ‘Pillow Talk’ star took to Twitter to thank all of the fans who had kept supporting the singer during his break from social media, moving fans to tears.

    “I would like to say thank you to everyone that has supported me throughout this amazing journey, especially to my fans who I owe my life to. Love and adore you and see everything you do for me.”

  • Summer blockbusters we are excited about

    Who said this is going to be a boring summer?

    With super stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie and powerhouse directors like Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan bringing their art to cinemas, this summer is going to be anything but boring.

    We have Pakistan’s first ever crime thriller, based on a serial killer no one has depicted on film, a gorgeous Disney adaptation of the beloved story ‘The Little Mermaid’ and yes, the woman ,the myth, the legend herself, Greta Gerwig, bringing the world to its knees with Barbie.

    Here is our list of summer blockbusters that have us already booking our tickets with glee.

    1 Kukri

    Abu Aleeha thrilled audiences with ‘Daadal’ starring the powerhouse Sonya Hussein, depicting a boxer from Lyari who turns to the sport to avenge her sister’s honor. Now, he is bringing to screens the story of child serial killer Javed Iqbal. Starring Ayesha Omar and Yasir Hussain, the trailer has us excited because this is the first time such a story is being released in cinemas.

    2 Barbie

    Icon and savior Greta Gerwig made history when she released the trailer for the upcoming comedy film ‘Barbie’, impacting the film industry in a way never seen before. In this adaptation, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling take on the roles of Barbie and Ken, taking us on a hilarious journey as Barbie steps out in to the new world in order to get to know who she is.

    3 The Little Mermaid (2023)

    If you’re looking for a good film to watch with family, this is the perfect one. Halle Bailey set our 90’s heart soaring when it was announced that she would be taking on the role of Ariel for ‘The Little Mermaid’. Featuring a star-studded cast with the likes of Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Simone Ashley and Daved Diggs, the gorgeous special effects and the positive reviews have already gotten us excited.

    4 Oppenheimer

    If this list wasn’t up to your taste then wait for Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’. Featuring Cillian Murphy, the film is about Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is working with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, developing the atomic bomb.

  • Al Pacino demanded paternity test, thought was too old to have a baby

    .The plot thickens.

    Hollywood legend Al Pacino had reportedly been shocked when he discovered that his partner Noor Alfallah was expecting his child. The actor demanded that she take a paternity test, TMZ has reported.

    According to TMZ, the 83 year old ‘Godfather’ actor had a medical condition which would have prevented him from impregnating a woman. Al Pacino had reportedly found out two months ago that he was about to become a father once again.

    Alfallah agreed to the test, with the results revealing that indeed, Al Pacino was the father.

    The 28 year old music producer is currently eight months pregnant with what will be the ‘Scent Of A Woman’ actor’s fourth child.

    Meanwhile his ‘Heat’ co-star Robert De Niro welcomed his seventh child with long-term partner Tiffany Chen. The veteran actor reacted to the news of his comrade’s impending fatherhood during an appearance on ‘Today‘:

    “Listen, Al Pacino [is about to have a baby] and he’s a few years older than me. God bless him,” he said. “I’m very happy for him.”