Peter Sarsgaard Makes Great Use of Indie Film Interim Agreement During SAG-AFTRA Strike

Actors can’t really talk about their work right now. With the few interim agreements that have been granted, we’ve been given a brief insight into how they’re feeling about the strikes. Namely, actors like Peter Sarsgaard are using their ability to speak about their movies at places like the Venice Film Festival to talk about why AI is so frightening. Talking to Vanity Fair, Sarsgaard brought up his research into AI and how it is currently the point of contention with the AMPTP.

“I’ve been talking a lot about the issue of artificial intelligence because I think this is one that gets dismissed because it sounds so futuristic and it’s not,” Sarsgaard said. “It’s here. It’s happening. It’s going to continue to happen. This is one of the main things that we’re disagreeing about with the AMPTP: that an actor is a person and a writer is a person. I actually have connected with this woman who’s a PhD in AI and she’s someone I’m getting information from, and she’s somebody I’ve actually put in touch with our leadership. So I love having the opportunity of talking to you, talking to people, to be a part of that message, which is not my message. It’s the message from my union. If we can all come together and put out the ideas that are coming from our leadership that we elected, we’re going to stand a better chance.”

This is a bigger fear that many creatives have, and Sarsgaard coming at it from an informed position on the terrifying nature of AI, and taking advantage of the interim agreement to about it, is exactly why he’s beloved.

Using platforms to talk about the importance of the strikes

What’s great about this is that Sarsgaard is excited to talk about the work he’s been doing while not working on films or television shows. He’s putting in the effort to make sure he AI conversation doesn’t just end up as a small footnote in the situation at large. The deal with AI is that studio figureheads want AI to do the work so they don’t have to pay writers or actors for it. They want AI to create background actors and write scripts so that people don’t have to be involved.

Obviously, actors and writers are pushing back and saying that AI has no place in the creative field (rightfully so), and while AI may have a purpose in other fields, it doesn’t belong in art. It’s great when people like Sarsgaard use their platform to talk about the unions’ concerns, especially because that’s not the purpose of interim agreements. These agreements are in place so smaller films can stand a chance and have the press junkets they deserve. Still, these actors are standing up for what they believe in while promoting their work and that’s pretty incredible.

(featured image: Elisabetta A. Villa, Getty Images)