#they're trying to do what hollywood is doing to the strike

[felinalain]

Unity thinks it can "appease enough to make it work"

TL!DR:

Among Us Dev got a phone call with Unity execs. They said they would do deals with specific devs, to mitigate the fee and the backlash but they would not cancel their decision.

He added that the execs seems to think if they can wait long enough, and if few enough have to pay, all devs will drop the matter and not care about those that are still affected. (because solidarity is not a concept that those money-hungry fucks understand)

Among Us Dev then said he was going to start looking into other engine options.

#unity #they're trying to do what hollywood is doing to the strike #that's really it #they want to wait it out #and they think they'll win #I'm actually worried now

[starlightshadowsworld]

People who say boycotts and strikes don't do shit.

Like the writers strike didn't completly shut down Hollywood and get deals and pay that the studios and CEO for a long while claimed they couldn't do.

They didn't make those deals out of the goodness of their hearts.

They think they have the power but we outnumber them, and we know where to hurt them the worst.

Their wallets.

Remember Biden said "Israel is the best 3 billion dollar investment we made."

Which is what these companies like McDonald's, Disney and Starbucks believe.

What good is an investment if you lose money from it?

And they're feeling it, it's why they're so desperate to distract us with buy one get one frees and such.

If we didn't have power they wouldn't be trying so hard to silence us.

#boycott mcdonalds #boycott disney #boycott starbucks #anti israel #anti zionisim #free palestine #free gaza #gaza #palestine #writers strike #wga strike

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

I’m the anon that asked about you working during the strike. I really don’t want to ask dumb questions, but even after lots of googling with SAG and Japan, I can’t figure it out. Is there a reason why Japan isn’t part of the SAG??

If I’m missing something this probably sounds dumb but I’m being serious

Hey, good on you for trying to figure things out! I don't think it's dumb to ask questions but just to be absolutely clear:

SAG-AFTRA is an American Union. A union is an organization formed by workers of a certain industry which can then use its combined power to create large-scale events to disrupt workflow of that industry if the employers are forcing them into unfair working conditions or lowball pay.

America and Japan are separate countries, and their industries, although they interact on a global scale, are not the same thing. Although there are global, international unions, SAG-AFTRA is specifically an American organization. So is the WGA (Writer's Guild of America).

I currently

Do not live in the US

Do not work in Screenwriting, acting, etc nor any Hollywood industry

Am not a part of either union, nor indeed am QUALIFIED to be a part of the union

My actual career - what I do for a living - has nothing to do with writing or acting. I work on this comic as a hobby. I'm not legally or financially associated with Cartoon Network of Hollywood or ANYONE in the WGA or SAG. If I stop writing my comics, it will not inconvenience anyone in the Hollywood industry, because.... they don't make money off of me in any way.

The unions organize the strikes with people who are part of the union. They work together to push the industry (mainly the AMPTP) to give the union-members better control of their own Intellectual Property in regards to AI use in the entertainment industry, residual pay from streaming, and etc.

To clarify: I'm not a worker. I'm not a part of this industry. I'm a fanartist. I draw you guys comics..... for free. No company is paying me for this. I survive off of the donations of my Patreon supporters and my IRL job (which is Education).

If that still feels like a lot to take in, try this metaphor:

Asking me if I'm 'scabbing' by continuing to write/draw my comic while WGA is striking is like asking a kid in Japan why they're playing outside while middle schoolers in California are trying to petition for longer recess times.

#chekhov answers #i hope i kind of explained it? #i know it's confusing #maybe someone else can do better

[ahaura]

via Twitter

Since SAG-AFTRA is going on strike and the unions in Hollywood are getting more attention, I think it's really important to remind people to be mindful of the anti-union propaganda most media outlets will be releasing on behalf of the corporations.

For example, yesterday Deadline Hollywood tweeted that Matt Damon was talking about how tough the strike was going to be for his new company, making him out to be anti-union. This was a deliberate mischaracterization of his words: he said that while it would be difficult, if the union leadership deemed it necessary then they must strike, especially since it makes the difference for working actors to have healthcare. Deadline Hollywood retracted their statement after backlash.

This is not the first instance of this nor will it be the last. Media outlets will intentionally try to make it seem like there is real divide between actors and personalities in Hollywood about the strike when the vast majority of actors (and crew members in general) are in solidarity with one another. The media's role is also to turn the public against them, which subsequently makes collective action seem "selfish" and "greedy". They lay it on thick with additional comments with arguments such as "why are all these rich people complaining?" when the Big Names In Movies only account for about 10% of working actors industry-wide. Actors have to make $26, 000 USD to qualify for healthcare but with present conditions - and companies withholding residuals on streaming platforms as well - many can't even get that, and must get secondary jobs to survive.

It is absolutely necessary to be critical and skeptical of headlines as the strikes kick off. There will be more and more anti-union propaganda as it goes on. While there are bound to be a few actors who are anti-union, they do not represent the vast majority of working people in the industry.

The corporations involved in the strike do not want to pay their workers - the people generating the value of that which they produce - their fair share, a living wage, fairer contracts, and healthcare. Moreover, other corporations do not want to pay their workers fairly and pay for necessities like healthcare. The United States unionization rate is only 11.3%, which is too high even in capital owner's eyes. They do not want this number to increase; they do not want people to realize that they're being robbed of what they're owed while CEOs and executives rake in millions upon millions every single year.

TL;DR please be mindful of the headlines you see coming out of the media while the strikes are going on. The media has and will continue to lie to the public about labor action because they serve the corporations, not the workers. And this goes across the workforce, regardless of industry.

#hvaña #wga strike #sag aftra #labor #please please please read sources. watch clips yourselves of people saying shit if you can. and remember #that the media is NOT here to inform you but to mislead you so that you will not support labor action #whether it's in the entertainment sector or others.

[onlycosmere]

Spinning_Sky: I think everybody was sort of expecting some news to come around this summer, but then of course the writers' strike situation pulled the breaks on the whole thing.

I was wondering if the topic of "hollywood" has been addressed by Brandon in 2023, I have no memory of it but I might have missed something, anyone has any news?

Or we can just use this post to be sad about it together 😂

Brandon Sanderson: As I indicated two months ago in the comment linked in this thread (which I now see autocorrected "is making" to "amateur" for some reason) don't hold your breath.

I think we're completely stalled at this point, folks--not just because of the strikes. They're a relatively small issue in regards to what we were trying to do. We got really close in some ways I'll be able to talk about eventually, but I don't see any kind of film/TV announcement coming this year.

Hollywood is scared. Even Mission Impossible is under-performing, and Rings of Power did far beneath what they wanted. I think at this point, I might have to try some smaller forays (i.e. Not Stormlight, not Mistborn, maybe not even Cosmere) into Hollywood to build a reputation before I can get the kind of adaptation I want.

We'll see. There still are a few possibilities in the works that could turn this around. If it does happen, it won't be for an announcement this year.

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #cfsbf #root #wob #kind of

[naffeclipse]

How okay are you with cusses? Cuz I came across this post of old hollywood bloopers and since the Detective AU/Sleuth Jesters takes some inspiration from film noir (at least I thought it did?), my mind immediately wandered in that direction. They do cuss a bit tho but there’s something funny and sincere about old-timey people just being people and dropping the perceived propriety by swearing. here's more if that's alright

Also in the very hypothetical case of SJ being a film noir production, I’d think it cute to image Eclipse, who plays the nastiest of nasties, actually being super kind and sweet irl (and constantly bumping his head cuz he’s just too tall lol). Sun and Moon may be more laid back or more like their SB selves perhaps? just goofy and having fun. But ignore that if actor au type stuff isn’t your cuppa tea ^^’ I do prefer SJ as is in its fictive context. Just thought it a funny set of clips to share :)

I'm okay with reading/hearing curses, I just don't like to write too much of them! And yes, Sleuth Jesters is very inspired by film noir! I love gag reels and bloopers, they're so funny!

AHHH AN ACTOR AU WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN! I wouldn't write a full fledge story but it's really exciting to think about ♥ (psst @luminitewrites I think you mentioned an actor sleuth jesters AU a while ago? but if not then feel free to ignore!)

Oh gosh, Eclipse just being a real sweetheart (hehe)! He gives me vibes of this one interview with an actor who was asked about people who idolized the very evil and morally messed up character he played and he just bluntly says: that's wrong and you should probably get therapy if you do. (I can't remember who exactly was the actor/quote but if I do, I'll put it here lol)

Sun and Moon would be their Security Breach selves. They're fun behind the scenes just as much as they are while in character!

I also think about the boys knowing their lines perfectly, because, animatronics, so Y/N would be the one who curses and apologizes whenever they forget a line. However! Y/N is the best at improv and delivering great, unexpected lines that enrich the scene/dialogue! Of course, that's not to say the boys wouldn't have their share of flukes with missing cues or messing up an action scene, or keeping up with Y/N when they do some improv.

I'm going to put a few of my favorites from the bloopers here as the boys and Y/N if you don't mind hehe (sidenote: I love how often they shout nuts lol):

Sun: Let me do it again, right now! Keep rolling!

~

Moon: Well, I can't work around here! *camera follows Moon as he walks away* Oh, you're following me. Oh. I didn't know that.

~

*Y/N and Sun kissing for a scene*

Y/N: *leaning back in Sun's arms* What was it? What was the... *forgets line* Sonuva—

Sun: *chuckles* Language.

~

Y/N: Oh, I'm fine. You've been getting any lately? *misses a keyword*

Moon: *grinning* Overtime, you mean?

Y/N: *laughs bashfully and blushes as they turn away*

~

Sun: Geez, these city women are... *realizes he's delivering it wrong* Nuts.

Y/N: *smiling* Well, I don't think so.

~

Director: *during a scene where the actors are standing in water and are wet* Don't pull your hair back!

Y/N: Well, I gotta see, if you don't mind!

Moon: *chuckles*

~

Y/N: *hat falls off during a scene*

Eclipse: *hurries to pick it up and put it back on them*

~

Eclipse: *trying to light his cigar but fails repeatedly in frustration* My match won't strike.

~

Y/N: *collapses against Eclipse in a dramatic scene* Help me... *tries to lift their head but realizes their hair is stuck* Help me, please, help me. *laughs* I'm caught on his button!

Eclipse: *laughs as he frees them*

#this was so much fun ahhh! #piixelpaint #sleuth jesters #actor au

[peetapiepita]

Thoughts on what general audiences can do for the WGA and SAG strikes

I've read up a lot on the strike situation these past weeks because I'm someone who consumes A LOT OF media content. The strike will affect my daily life and I'm a curious girlie when it comes to show biz rules. So here are some of the takeaways I wanna share with my fellow audience:

1. Understand the strike

The strike is happening for 2 major reasons:

1.) The studios are refusing to pay the creators/actors residuals on streaming services.

This makes it hard for the majority of writers and actors to make a living by doing their respective jobs. They used to rely on residuals from old projects (DVD and blue-ray sales, renting, etc.) to pay bills. That's just not happening today.

To try to get out of paying residuals, the major studios started this trend this year to take old and new shows/movies off their streaming platforms and use them as an excuse for a tax write-off. Disney did this last month and got a 1.1 billion tax write-off. They can currently do that without consulting the people involved AT ALL, taking away their livelihood without warning.

2.) The studios want to retain the rights to use AI writing and performing.

In the negotiation with SAG, they proposed a plan to pay actors only one day's wage to use their AI image FOREVER without paying them ever again. And the actors wouldn't have a ground to argue that. This is straight out of Black Mirror Season 6 Joan is Awful. Netflix is really writing its own villain origin story right now.

So what would happen if the workers budge and give up mid-way?

They'll end up losing their means to survive and have their images stolen. So striking for a few months is definitely better than starving indefinitely.

What's happening right now?

Right now, no projects fiananced by AMTPT companies can film with SAG members or develop with WGA members, which means only a very small percentage of all Hollywood productions can still happen. (More to come about this.)

With finished projects, if they're being released in the next few months, they're going to be released without any promo from the actors. They can't take part in interviews, premieres, fan events, or even post about their projects on social media.

2. Help with the strike.

Now that the double strike has officially happened, what's the best outcome for the workers and the audiences?

If you're just a casual entertainment enjoyer:

Cancel the streaming services not essential to you. The studios are going to panic more when they start losing even more money.

If you're a fan of a fanchise/upcoming blockbuster:

Flood the companies behind it, demanding them negotiate with the SAG and WGA on their own and agree to a fair deal. Threat not to support the projects unless it's settled fairly.

These studios with upcoming big-budget movies are bleeding money and panicking right now, any added pressure is good.

If one company buckles, the others would follow suit.

If you have money to spare: (Congrats on being rich, btw!)

Donate to the unions and support the ones with lower income in the first place, they'd be struggling with bills if the strike goes on for too long.

For everyone:

Call out big studios who are still planning on filming projects during the strike.

Please note there are exceptions to the strike rule:

1.) Foreign productions.

Please note an actor has to be part of the foreign union to work on these. Some of the foreign unions are still in meetings to decide if they'll allow US companies to work with their members, the most notable ones being the UK one and the Canadian one. Fingers crossed they don't fall for the deals the US studios are offering.

2.) Indie productions.

Indie companies can make their own deals with the workers since they're not included in the overall deal. So a very small amount of US projects can still happen. Make sure a project doesn't fall into this category before calling them out for scabbing.

That's about it for now. I might add more later in the replies if I think of anything.

#sag strike #sag strong #sag solidarity #wga strike #wga strong #wga solidarity #support wga #support workers

[fans4wga]

To any newcomer joining the industry after they graduated college or just getting into the field, what is your advice on what they should do? Like if they are in LA/NYC or not in LA/NYC, what can they do?

Sorry if this is left field!

That's a huge question with a lot of variables, but fortunately our mods are also newcomers in the industry and have been through this ourselves so hopefully this is helpful :)

A couple things you can do to prepare yourself:

Unpaid internships, though clearly and obviously exploitative of vulnerable populations, are sometimes (UGH) the only or best way to get in the door and have something legit on your resume. (The paid internships are unfortunately so much more competitive, but definitely apply if you can!) A lot of internships and jobs are posted regularly on LinkedIn. This is a good Linkedin group to see job postings for young people working in entertainment.

How do you even make a resume for Hollywood internship/entry-level positions? Great question. Highlight any media experience (yearbook, newspaper, journalism, graphic design) and leadership experience. (Unless it's like, from middle school. That's too far back.) If you have the chance to submit a cover letter, focus less on trying desperately to prove yourself and more on who you are as a person: someone who is determined, yes, but would also be a good, solid coworker; any stories that reveal your talent for narrative and showcase your skills.

If unpaid internships aren't possible for you, consider checking out adjacent jobs in podcasts or journalism or other media, which would still be good on your resume before you make the switch to film/TV.

Get a nice, recent headshot (doesn't have to be a professional shoot, you just want to look professional in your social media and email profile pics.)

Join the picket lines in LA/NY if possible (WGA has the locations here). Everyone out on the picket line is supporting the future of the entire industry. It's not only the current workers on strike, but you and your peers too, who depend on the outcome of these negotiations. Also, if you consider yourself "pre-WGA" (interested in being a writer/WGA member in the future), there are a handful of groups organizing strike support for pre-WGA folks! Get plugged in with them.

Read the trade publications daily, or at least a couple times a week, to stay on top of what's going on in Hollywood. The typical places are Deadline Hollywood, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and I also like IndieWire and the NYT movies section personally for their profiles and reviews. Basically you just want to be someone who knows what's going on in your own industry and can talk intelligently about the state of things.

Likewise, podcasts. If you're going into TV writing, I can't recommend Children of Tendu enough. If that's not your specific field, search around for what other people in your field are listening to!

I hate having to say this, but... Twitter. Lots of WGA members, directors, actors, and industry people are active on Twitter, despite the, er, problems with the platform. Look for both pre-WGA and WGA people, connect with them, start building a community, maybe join a writing feedback group. (Again, since I'm a writer, that kinda applies to just writers, but I'm sure you can find other departments there too!)

On a similar note: You've probably heard a lot about the importance of networking—getting to know people in the industry who might be your coworkers in the future. That's important advice, but even better advice than that is to network horizontally, not vertically. Translation: Don't always seek out people who are in more advanced stages of their career than you: they're probably very busy and their lack of interest in lower-level people could be discouraging, even if it's just a reflection on their lack of time and not on you. Instead, network with people at the same stage as you—people who are new in LA/NY/the industry, people who are coming up and have similar passions and goals as you, people who are your coworkers and peers. I'm coming up with a lot of really cool people and it's very likely we'll all be in a position to help or hire each other 10, 20 years from now.

That said, you could also try to find a mentor who knows more than you do, but that's tricky territory because again... Hollywood. People are busy. But if you do get the chance to apply for a formal mentorship program, or if someone you know shows interest, having a mentor to go to for questions/advice is super valuable!

Acquire skills. Microsoft Excel skills. Standard screenplay formatting skills. Final Draft skills. Graphic design skills. Website building skills. A lot of people start in the industry at the assistant level, and these things are invaluable on your resume.

For writers specifically, I've heard the advice that you need to get 5+ shitty scripts out of your system before writing something decent. And from personal experience, that adage holds true. You need to write a significant amount of crap before you find your voice and get a handle on script formatting. Online classes and writing groups can help a lot with this.

Also for writers: You should not be trying to start your career as a professional writer without 3+ SOLID, GOOD SCRIPTS in your portfolio that match your voice as a writer, fit your (ugh) writer "brand", and have been revised based on feedback from writers you trust. If you have any doubt about the state of your sample scripts, go back to the drawing board and write a new pilot script.

If you want to be a creator, watch stuff extensively! Old stuff, new stuff, award-winning stuff, stuff that you'd want to write/direct/act in someday. Pick a director and watch everything they've made (or the same for writer/actor/costume designer/cinematographer.) You need to be decently fluent in what has come before you. This industry is only 100 years old, so it's very possible with time to become someone who knows the art form inside and out. Don't watch shallowly, either; watch deeply for analysis and critical thought.

Some final words from someone who cares deeply about the overall wellness of young people in the industry. This industry terrorizes people, and there are a lot of stories of abuse and breakdowns. (Oh, another recommendation, though pace yourself because it's a difficult book with a lot of potential triggers: Burn it Down by Maureen Ryan talks about industry abuse, written by a journalist who's tackled a lot of breaking news about abuse in Hollywood. Essential reading for people going into the industry.)

So prioritize taking care of yourself, and not just in the uwu self-care way, but the bone-deep "know thyself", "if you don't take care of yourself, you will literally cease to function" way. Love yourself enough to know when to step back and take time off. Love yourself to gain good time management skills so you can live a less stressful life. Love yourself enough to build a community of people who will look out for each other.

Wishing you the best of luck. If any pre-WGA/early career folks in the industry want to continue this conversation, this mod's main is @captaincrais.

#hollywood

[sailforvalinor]

OC Mundane Tag Game

Tagged again by @accidental-spice--thanks for the tag!

Rules: Pick an OC you'd like to talk about and answer the questions for them! Then tag ten people, or as many as you can. 'Underdeveloped character I adopted' is fine, too! Absolutely no pressure to play, though

Also, if some of it can't apply to your OCs, just answer what would be the answer-- like if they're in a historical setting, they likely can't watch movies, but what is a movie they'd like?

(Also, most people have many ocs, so feel free to retag people and answer as many times as you get tagged! Or get really wild and just answer for as many ocs as you'd like! :D)

Since I talked about Ace last time, it's only fair that I talk about Joker :D

1. What is their favorite movie?

I feel like Joker's taste in movies is pretty eclectic (especially as she has all of time and space to draw on!), but the first thing that came to mind was White Christmas (the dance numbers!) and Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (she idolizes Grace Kelly). I do associate her quite a bit with that classic Hollywood era, but I find I haven't actually watched a ton of them? If anyone has suggestions, I will gladly take them.

2. What is their favorite season?

Most definitely spring--beauty, rebirth, gorgeous flowers, etc etc. Actually, Ace's favorite being winter and hers being spring is pretty fitting, now that I think about it.

3. What do they find annoying?

People with a lack of imagination, when people don't appreciate things she's enthusiastic about, when she can't find the perfect outfit, bad hair days.

4. How would they like to spend their Christmas or equivalent holiday?

She really would love anything as long as she's not celebrating alone--she has done some pretty spectacular things on her hundreds of Christmases past (sneaking into one of Queen Victoria's Christmas parties, going ice skating on a planet of ice palaces, visiting the Christmas Theme Park that Australia built on the moon in 3489 that only lasted a year (turns out it was because of her, actually), but she mostly does these sorts of things to distract herself from how lonely she is, as Christmas is a pretty family-oriented holiday and that's when she feels it most acutely. Needless to say, her Christmases become much lovelier with Ace around.

5. Do they play an instrument? If so, what? How good are they at it?

I imagine she's probably collected almost every instrument imaginable, and can at least make most of them make sound, but she only really plays acoustic guitar (specifically really finger-plucky stuff) and probably a bit of piano. She also sings, and unlike Ace, has no qualms about doing so whenever the mood strikes. And sometimes it strikes at odd times.

6. What's their favorite meal to eat?

Ooh, this one is hard. I feel like she would be one to be constantly excited about trying different kinds of food--but as for a favorite of hers, the first thing that comes to mind is tiramisu for some reason. There is also always a hot pot of tea in her TARDIS without exception.

7. Do they have a favorite video game or board game?

Joker does strike me as a video game girl--I can see her being a Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts fan (and unlike all of us, she actually has the time on her hands to play every Final Fantasy game, lol). As for board games, I think she would probably like Life, as well as some of those newer fantasy games with a ton of worldbuilding like Scythe. Of course, she probably never played them much up until she met Ace, as playing board games against an AI avatar gets boring very fast. She's also so bad at chess that the first time she played with Ace, he was dead convinced that she had let him win.

8. Do they celebrate their birthday?

Poor Joker is an amnesiac--she has no memory of who she is or where she came from, and only knows the simple fact that she is a Time Lord, and her first memory was floating in the vacuum of space-time as a child in her TARDIS. (I'm not even sure that she knows about the Time War. It's difficult to believe that she wouldn't have heard about it after so much time, so she probably knows...?) Thus she has no idea when her birthday is, so she just picked a random day and celebrated it in much the same fashion as she does Christmas. After she meets Ace, she usually convinces him to take her out dancing (which, to his credit, doesn't usually take too much persuading).

9. What's their bedtime routine?

Do Time Lords sleep? I've been getting conflicting answers about this. I'm gonna go with "sometimes," and in those cases, pretty nightdress, cup of tea, usually plays music.

10. What's an OC (or canon character) they like to spend time around? What do they tend to do together?

Ace is the first person she has ever truly connected with beyond the surface-level, despite their very disparate personalities. I don't want to give too much away too early, but what I will say is that initially, Joker views Ace a little bit like a project, and he views her as a character stepped straight out of a fairy story who is too otherworldly to be real and must have some secret agenda for bringing him with her, and thus distrusts her, but they slowly but surely overcome this rockiness. She sees something in Ace that he refuses to see in himself—but I really can’t say more without spoiling things. Joker is very verbally affectionate, often referring to Ace as “my Ace” or “darling.” He makes a very noble effort to hide how flustered he is by this.

As for what they do together, they of course have their time-traveling adventures (and sometimes run into the Doctor and his companions). I'd say they're a bit more like tourists than the Doctor and Rose are, they tend to go to different times and places with the intent of exploring and sightseeing and their adventures are rarely, if ever, premeditated. Also, as I mentioned earlier, they love to go out dancing--the Doctor and Rose are half-convinced that they're just on a dance tour of the universe, as 50% of the time they run into them, they're checking out the local social dancing scene.

Also, I mentioned this in my post about Ace, but Joker loves introducing him to movies, tv shows, music, and other kinds of media that he missed out on in his time. In return, Ace reads aloud to her a lot--it sort of began out of his frustration that she constantly leaves half-read books around and forgets to finish them, but then it just kind of became a habit.

Tagging @o-lei-o-lai-o-lord @rainintheevening @novelmonger @mythicalartisttm and anyone else who has oc's they'd like to talk about!

#but exactly how and in what way does joker care about ace? that's for her to know and him to be too nervous to find out #also i know most of the time the doctor doesn't go LOOKING for trouble it's just his idea of tourism is 'lets go watch the world explode du #to heat death' sometimes and joker's is 'lets go try the first tiramisu in Treviso' you know? #sometimes the Doctor really is just trying to go to a concert and ends up having to protect Queen Victoria from werewolves though. poor man #don't worry they still get into plenty of Situations #joker and ace

[destinyc1020]

Confessions, I wish there were more dark skinned females leads in Hollywood. It’s disheartening that in 2023 the only representation we had was in the 90s and early 00s. What makes matters worse is the those films and tv shows meant nothing because black creatives own nothing in Hollywood. I think Tyler Perry is the only black creative that owns a studio. I’m aware this is toned deaf due to the strike, but the Tiana casting for live action really put me in a bad mood lol. Ppl were fan casting Zendaya lol.

I’m aware that she would never take it cause she only takes roles that are for whites women lol, but the fact not dark skinned actress is ever gonna get to that level she’s gotten to (rightly deserved due to Disney, marvel and fashion) her career is a dime in a dozen. Even Halle berry in her peak never got to a level commercially like her white counterparts. She found solace career wise in black films and producing.

Zendaya is outperforming her white peers but it’s crazy how for black creatives we are only allowed one but in the music industry there’s a plethora of black women of different shades and shapes thriving. I really hope I don’t come across bitter or that I don’t like Zendaya success cause ppl do love to use her as a scapegoat ( the Keke scandal last year is an example). It’s just crazy that as we become technologically advanced, the lack of opportunity is sparse and the talent is there. Like there’s no black lady bird film?

That’s my confession/rant lol.

Happy Sunday!

First off anon.... Thanks so much for your confession. 🙏🏾

I'm almost getting emotional because I've felt the same way for a long time, and I can relate to just about everything you said in your ask... 🥺

I'll try to keep it semi-brief... To me, I feel like there ARE talented young, dark-skinned, black women in Hollywood.... but like you said, they're just not being given the same amount (or even same type) of roles as other women in the industry who are of lighter hues. 😔

For some reason, Hollywood has no issue with hiring darker black women once they hit 45 and up... We have Viola, Angela, Octavia, etc, all doing massively well (imo), and being cast in all types of lead and supporting roles in mainstream films....

But for SOME reason, when it comes to casting darker YOUNG black women (especially American) in roles, it's almost like Hollywood forgets that younger darker skinned black women under 35 even exist! 🤔

I've been noticing the pattern for a few years.

And no, I know you don't mean anything negative about Zendaya.... Zendaya has an AWESOME career.... and she basically started from the ground up (no Nepo or rich parents for her!), she worked hard, she's ambitious, she spreads out her work to include ambassadorships/modeling/TV/film, she honed her craft, she didn't overstep her boundaries or immediately go after lead roles on the big screen before she could handle it.... etc.. Like, she's done AMAAZING in Hollywood, and has really started to build an empire (imo) if that's the route she eventually wants to go in. 👏🏾

The only other black young woman in HW who I would say is even somewhat close to what Z is doing is probably Keke..... but even Keke isn't on the same level as Z. Honestly, I don't think there's any young darker-skinned actress out here in the industry who's doing it like Zendaya. Shhhhtt..... even the white actresses aren't doing it like Zendaya right now lol 😆 So, it's def rare....

But you're right.... it's almost like Hollywood forgets that young black women darker than a paper bag even exist. 🤷🏾‍♀️ When they ONLY use light skinned young actresses for black representation, the black women who AREN'T lighter than a paper bag, or biracial, etc can start to feel left out and not represented at all. 😔

Don't get me wrong, SOME representation is better than none lol 😆 👀

But imo, Hollywood can definitely do better. I would LOVE to see a wholesome Lady Bird type of film, but for black women. 😃

I'm VERY excited about the new "Color Purple" musical film coming out, but if the musical is anything like the original film, that's yet ANOTHER film featuring black actresses that (yet again!) have to deal with trauma, suffering, angst, and struggle.... 🥴 Why can't we get some HAPPY stories for a change? 😅 Do ppl just love watching us struggle onscreen or smthg?

Anyway, let me stop rambling coz I've already said way too much as is. 😞

BTW, Oprah owns Harpo Studios I believe? 🤔 So Tyler isn't the only one IIRC.

#confession corner sunday #confession corner

[beevean]

The more I read about Shankar and his way of adapting old franchise the more he genuinely strikes me as your average edgelord fanfic writer from the mid 2000s that would just make everything super edgy for the sake of it and everyone would laugh at them

Seriouslu an R-Rated Mega Man adaptation!? The X and Zero series may be dark but nowhere NEAR R-Rated!! And he wanted to do this for the Power Rangers!

“If I’m not a fan of something and I don’t organically understand what is cool about it, then I’m simply not going to get involved,” he said. “Even though I have one foot in the door in Hollywood, I’m not trying to rape and pillage culture for profit. I’m trying to take the things I loved as a kid and bring them to life in an interesting way.”

lol. lmao, even. rofl, if you will.

You know, I think we found the real equivalent of Flynn. Ellis was very honest about his lack of caring of the franchises he worked for, and as little respect I can give that individual, I can respect that he didn't pretend to have any more credentials than he actually has.

Now Shankar and the Deats brothers are more familiar in their "We're totally fans, we swear! We care about the original products! We're fans like you! We're one of you, we're bros!"

And I don't want to say that they're fake fans, but they seem to be that kind of fan who have their very narrow vision of the franchises they love, unaware or uncaring of how distant their vision actually is. And their idea of what's cool and interesting can end up rather... juvenile.

Which, whatever if they were simply writing fanfiction in their corner. But when said fanfiction becomes the face of a whole franchise, well, :)

As for R-rated Megaman, I wonder if they'll turn the movie into a gorefest much like NFCV, because something something robot rebellion but let's give them blood i guess. Well, the Zero series can get rather grim, but the Classic series? Unless you have Wily spouting profanities, how are you going to make that R-rated?

[saintlaurentproblems]

I've been working on a screenplay for 5 years, but I'm not an active Hollywood writer. What was he doing during the Writer's strike????? Sam has had plenty of time and it kind of shows he's taking the amount of success Euphoria has had for granted. This is how you know he's one of those insufferable nepo babies because he's not even trying. Honestly, the studio needs to give him a deadline and tell him that if he doesn't get it done, they're going to hire a new writer or pull the plug.

They should hire literally anyone else

#answered

[nokingsonlyfooles]

The Writers' Strike and Dystopia News Today!

Just finished listening to the most recent Trash Future (it's great, find it wherever you listen to podcasts, because you don't live under a rock and of course you listen to podcasts). It's about the writers' strike.

Their guest (a Hollywood writer) recounted an interview with the Russo brothers (the team behind The Avengers films, among other things) where someone asked them what they were hoping AI would do for movies. The Russos thought it would be super fun to come home some day, tell your smart speaker you want to watch a 90 minute romcom starring your photorealistic avatar, and Marilyn Monroe's photorealistic avatar, and sit back and let it be instantly generated and served. And what's wrong with that?

A lot. There is a lot wrong with that. Just for starters, the uncanny valley lives and you'd relate better to a simplified cartoon cat than a photorealistic Marilyn (who is dead, and whose acting career should not continue without her consent). Also, if AI actually could generate decent movies like that, everyone involved in the entertainment industry would be out of a job, including directors like the Russos!

But the Trash Future crew didn't say this, so I'm gonna: You know what this is? This is capitalism trying like hell to control the means of production. The means of production for a story is the human imagination, and, although it has tried, capitalism has failed to monopolize and control that. It can control the resources you need to publish, and copyright will prevent you from publishing certain things, but that's only controlling the expression, not the thing itself. It can also try to control what you see, but if you really want something, you can always make a version of it yourself and self-publish, even if it doesn't get as much traction as a corporate-approved project.

You know what a creatively sterile corporate executive would really like for Christmas? An imagination that can be built from scratch, altered at will, and owned. And if AI can do that for 'em, they can finally kick all those useless, expensive, delicate human creatives to the curb.

I'm working on my art manifesto. It's slow going because I have a lot of other things to do, and I keep backing away and telling myself, Art doesn't need you to save it. This really isn't necessary. Check your ego, the most you can accomplish is like a wet fart in a hurricane, and that's okay. But stuff like this... These corporate interests that want to kill Art (and not like Dada, I mean REALLY. FUCKING. KILL IT.) have already defined the battle they want to fight and they're making moves.

They want you to stop being a producer. They want you to stop competing with the media they buy and curate that you have to pay them for. Ultimately, they'd rather not even buy these things before selling them to you, they want an AI slave to tell stories that they can own outright. And they want you to come home and plop down on your couch and not even consider writing a self-insert fic to entertain yourself, or finding a Reader/SugarKane (see, that's a character Marilyn played, rather than a reanimated corpse) story somewhere. They want you to pay money to CorpseFucker Monthly (or whatever they'd call it), put in your order and consume it. And when you're done with that, you can slam some more money on the counter and have another one.

We are tired, and we are delicate, and we need support. Telling stories is hard. I've often wished I could just read what I'm writing, instead of doing all that work, because that's really all I want. I want my story to exist so I can read it and enjoy it and connect with other people who read it and enjoy it. I don't want to stare into a white void until my eyes bleed, trying to think of a way to express what X character is thinking and why they're going to do a thing that makes the plot go. I don't want to rip into my trauma looking for Milo's motivation, I just want to feel better seeing him learn and grow.

But although that is what I want, there is not a magic box that can do that for me, and if there were, the people in charge of the box would not ask it to generate my story. I'd have to pay them for the privilege. And if I wanted to share it and build a community around it, I'd have to pay for that too. I didn't make it. It's not mine. All I did was dash off a prompt - that's not special, no one cares, go away and let someone else have a turn with the box. You are disposable, and your story is disposable, all that matters is that rich people got a little richer.

This is not new. The owners have been pushing for this since the advent of the printing press, if not longer. But they finally have a way to do it for real. They just need to frontload as many human imaginations as possible to train the box, after which any further input will not be required.

They already have all our work that they bought, and paid for, and have the rights to. And they have everything that fell into the public domain too. And, of course, they have everything stored on their various servers that they may leaf through and steal.

We do know this, and we're fighting back, but we're fragmented and disorganized and it's hard to pull back and see the whole picture. Yes, we are having a writers' strike, and thank God, but it's for reasonable paycheques and job security. Writers should have those things! But there is no fair compensation for the total commodification of Art. That's like... buying carbon offsets while the planet burns. (I know, I know, we're doing that too.)

Every word, every image we put out there is fodder for the magic box. Copyright is not going to save you from this, that's not what it's for. If they want the rights to your thing, they'll just buy them - probably not even from you. (And I'm giving my thing away, so I'm just as screwed.) They are going to do this, and we're not going to stop them.

The only question is, are we going to be able to build some kind of corporate-independent structure to tell and share our stories, and support each other... or when they yank the rug out from under us, are we gonna fall?

#no kings only fooles #writers' strike #commodification of art #ai art debate #god it's depressing

[dotthings]

This brings me to my annoyance and my sadness about things I love being owned by giant media conglomerates who don't care about these worlds or characters, they only care about the money. I've know this for a long time, but the current situation with the amptp made it extra pointed. And I'm sick of seeing major IP's getting trashed just for being major IP's. It's an insult to the creatives who are the ones who put the heart and soul into those characters and stories and worlds. Without them, there is no IP, and they're currently on strike because the huge studios and media conglomerates are money-grubbing and anti-union and playing manipulative power games.

Trashing the stories just because they're a big sprawling universe that continues instead of ending, just because they're financially high stakes, and linking that automatically to bad quality. THE CREATIVES WHO MADE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THOSE STORIES ARE ON STRIKE AND YOU ARE TRASHING THEIR WORK.

So gtfo people who think Marvel or DC or Star Wars should roll over and die (while they dress this view up as being anti-capitalist). Those characters and worlds matter and while there's mixed results creatively, that's subjective. Human beings made a ton of stuff in some very big IP's that have inspired and moved many humans.

It's our misfortune they're owned by massive conglomerates. Since that can't be undone, the way out is to improve the system, and that's exactly what the Hollywood unions are trying to do.

I'm just sick of the posturing while people pretend like these "big" universes have no value or meaning, as if HUMAN BEINGS DIDN'T WRITE AND FILM AND CREATE THE CORPORATE OWNED STORIES. As if they don't resonate with human beings. (Especially when they themselves fill their feeds with some popular IP that's only cared for by the owning company due to the money it makes while the creatives who made it resonate have to walk a picket line).

(Some people used this strike and weaponized it to trash insert-big-IP-they're-mad-at here, reflecting a very obvious grudge agenda--and they think that's pro union).

#dot trolls fandom #dot trolls the media

[astromechs]

this summer/general year at the box office is fascinating to me. before i start with an analysis, let's give a couple of stats from box office mojo.

the top 5 films domestically of 2023:

and the top 5 films worldwide of 2023:

you'll see a lot of pundits saying that "franchises are dead!" and that's not true; the two billion-dollar movies this year are super mario brothers and barbie, both of which come from some of the most well-known ip that's ever existed. both of those films will inevitably get sequels. big ip, and the franchises that spur off of them, are going nowhere.

but what is interesting is that what seemed to be most successful was new ip to film, and meanwhile a lot of established franchises utterly crashed and burned. despite pulling in over $700 million worldwide, fast x probably won't even turn a profit because of its ridiculous budget. elemental, ant-man and the wasp: quantumania, and indiana jones and the dial of destiny couldn't even crack $500 million worldwide. the live-action remake of the little mermaid passed that mark but is still a box office disappointment.

and the flash only made $268,533,313 worldwide before being quietly shuffled out of theaters and onto max (the artist formerly known as hbo max). not to mention that blue beetle has pulled in barely over $100 million worldwide and it's been in theaters for 18 days. yikes; that's bad for a tentpole.

disney is suffering big, but so is everyone else. barbie aside, warner brothers releases have tanked, and this is true for every studio. superhero films, a box office juggernaut for the past fifteen years, only saw sizable box office hits in gotg vol 3 and across the spider-verse, otherwise crashing and burning on arrival — but the fact that those two movies could pull money tells me it's not superhero fatigue, either. if it's not franchise fatigue and it's not superhero fatigue, then what is it?

it's bad franchise fatigue. audiences are clearly getting tired of the content machine spewing an endless stream of mediocre content at them, and hollywood is, in and of itself, at a reckoning point, being forced by the wga and sag-aftra strikes to reckon with how much they're underpaying people to feed their beast. and we have in-house vfx workers at disney making efforts to try to unionize.

the current hollywood business model is unsustainable, and despite pulling a few hits out this year, the box office reflects this just as much as the strikes do. since the only language that studio executives speak is money, it's right here in front of them.

#box office #hollywood

[fratboykate]

As someone who is a working writer in Hollywood (striking is the most important work, fair pay is the bare minimum), what is your opinion on nepo babies? Like the actors from rich parents or established Hollywood people.

I try to not get mad at them. I'd do the same if I had rich parents willing to pay for me to live in LA or NY while I pursue entertainment dreams or make a couple phone calls to get my foot in the door.

The only time I get mad is when the baby tries to pull the "I did it all by myself." Sure Jen. Daddy paying your bills for a few years straight and for all your acting classes; dental work; and calling his friends at the studios didn't have anything to do with it.

they're all really hit or miss. (mostly miss) but like you said, every parent just wants to set their kid up for success so 🤷🏽‍♀️ it is what it is. it's always going to be there.

but i do also wish people had a better understanding of what a nepo baby actually fucking. y'all use that term so willy nilly. someone has the most tangential connection to the industry and you'll see people talking about them like they're the kid of some studio ceo. one of the ones that always drives me INSANEEEEE because all you need is two working inches of brain power to know she is definitely not a "nepo baby" is billie eilish. the "her mom is an actress and her dad works in hollywood so her parents were millionaires". im sorry...1) the VAST majority of actors are just as broke as writers which is why theyre probably striking this summer too. people will see someone with three extra credits on IMDB and living in LA and think they're rolling in money. try to go find a movie that billie's mom starred in. you cant because she was a background actor AT BEST. that's the kind of shit people do for extra money lol. it pays like $150/day. her dad is a crew guy. crew members are working class. all of them. not a single crew person is rich. billie and finneas have shown their house a million times because their parents still live there and that's where they write all of their music. it's a very small, very humble house in an iconic low-to-middle class neighborhood in LA. you literally just have to look at the house to know these people arent rich. but you go on any nepo baby thread and people will have their mouths full with billie's name because "her parents work in the industry and got her in". be for fucking real. and she's just the only one that came to mind. there's so many other people who the internet considers "nepo babies" that aren't that AT ALL.

#beilish #hollywood #rants #anonymous #answers