Oscars, AI, and More

Here’s a nice weekend surprise! Reelarc’s very own weekly Industry Newsletter! We’re thrilled to say:

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

Every Friday, Reelarc curates the most luminous updates and insights from the acting industry for you. Tailored specifically for the dynamic world of working actors, our weekly dispatch promises to be your essential guide to staying informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve. Join the rundown, where each issue is a step forward in your acting career!

Oscar nominations took center stage this week, with strong performances (and a few surprises) from Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Barbie. SAG/AFTRA showed support for its members on several fronts - including the newly passed generative AI contract protections. And Cillian Murphy revealed what he thinks is the most important commodity on set. Let get into it.

Industry News

2024 Oscar Noms Are In

It wouldn’t be Oscar nominations week without surprises and snubs. Analysis are popping up on every corner of the internet currently but here are some of our faves:

“Diverse, Global, Even Funny For a Change” via Deadline
“Oppenheimer Looks Unstoppable” via Indiewire
“11 Biggest Snubs and Surprises” via Vogue

SAG/AFTRA’s Newly Ratified AI Regulations

One of the biggest sticking points of last year’s strike revolved around protecting actors against the use of generative AI in film and television. Here are some key points in the newly negotiated contract, now officially ratified by SAG/AFTRA members:

• Large digital alterations of an actor’s work (beyond normal postproduction edits needed for traditional elements such as noise reduction, continuity, etc.) require explicit consent from the performer.

• An employer utilizing a digital replica of an actor they have under contract must pay that actor. Entertainment lawyer Tara Aaron-Stelluto, speaking to Backstage, says- “Whether the producers use an AI-generate version of Nicole Kidman or Nicole Kidman [herself], they still have to pay Nicole Kidman.”

• Actors are in charge of their digital replicas. Your contracts state if you do or do not give permission for your likeness to cross paths with AI. You decide if the studio can use your likeness after death.

• Completely AI-generated “actors” (also known as synthetic performers) cannot look like working human actors. This means Disney can’t generate a man who looks exactly like Harrison Ford with only a slightly different top lip and insert “him” as a cameo in a Star Wars prequel. Unless, of course, Harrison says they can. (I’m pretty sure he won’t.)

There’s still a good deal of gray area that will likely turn into several court cases in the coming years. However the heart of the AI battle is about consent. Studios must gain consent from performers when AI is a part of the picture.

Another important note is that nonunion actors are not protected by this contract and will have to negotiate their own agreements with individual producers. Always read your contracts thoroughly. Aaron-Stelluto warns to pay particular attention to phrases like “[technology] now known or hereafter devised.” Read the full story at Backstage.

SAG/AFTRA’s Support of Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin was indicted last week on involuntary manslaughter charges and SAG had some strong words in response. From the union’s official statement:

“An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for use on set under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm…The guidelines do not make it the performer’s responsibility to check any firearm. Performers train to perform, and they are not required or expected to be experts on guns or experienced in their use.”

Expert Insights

Earlier this month, Variety released another round of their beloved Actors on Actors series. The biggest jewel among them may be Cillian Murphy and Margot Robbie discussing the phenomenon behind this summer’s Barbenheimer craze. In light of the Oscar success for both movies, here are some highlights from their conversation:

MR: So you read a lot to prep. What else do you do?
CM: Like walk around my basement talking to myself.
MR: Do you record yourself?
CM: I do sometimes.
MR: …I prep like a psychopath as well.
CM: Yeah, it’s the only way, isn’t it?
MR: I’ll prep, like, as long as I possibly can…Because then I can walk on set and just be like totally free. But if I hadn’t prepped, like I’d be so terrified. Like when I hear some other actors, like look at their script and there’s nothing written on it. And I’m like, I’d be so terrified if I didn’t have a bazillion notes and thoughts. Then I’d be having all those thoughts on set as opposed to-
CM: -Exactly. And I think, you know, when you get on set time is your most important commodity, as you know. And the last thing you wanna be doing is-
MR: Finding it.
CM: Figuring it out. Every second counts, so you wanna do all the figuring it out before and then park it.

MR: Normally I do a couple of things [to prep for a role]. So I make up childhood memories. So I think of like, you know, say, half a dozen core childhood memories. And that helps me explain why they do the things they do in the script. So like, you know, this is the time they were extremely humiliated in a public setting or this is the first time they felt betrayed. I couldn’t do that for [Barbie] because she just was invented out of a vacuum.

Quiz Time

Match the movies below to the number of Oscar nominations it received.

Casting Listings of Note

NYC:
union feature film, casting by Eleonore Hendricks & Abby Harri
non-union feature film, casting by Donna McKenna
non-union voiceover, production by Neon Wild
non-union industrial, casting by Andrew Schummer

LA:
union commercial, casting by Digital Dogs Casting
non-union industrial, casting by Luka Stemberger
non-union new media, Vanishing Point Entertainment
non-union ad, produced by Vito Lyles

Trends on Your FYP

Social media loves to focus on a good snub and most users’ timelines are in full agreement. Barbie deserved two more nominations- Margot Robbie for Best Actress and Greta Gerwig for Best Direction. Watch some of our favorite tiktok reactions and analysis:

What We’re Watching This Weekend

Trying to figure out how to watch every Best Picture contender? Here’s your rundown!

American Fiction - currently showing only in theaters (but should eventually land on Prime)
Anatomy of a Fall - in select theaters and available to rent on all major platforms
Barbie - stream on Max or watch it back in select theaters starting January 28th
The Holdovers - stream on Peacock, also still showing in select theaters
Killers of the Flower Moon - stream on Apple TV+, also still showing in select theaters
Maestro - stream on Netflix
Oppenheimer - available to rent on all major platforms, select showings back in theaters, and will be available to stream on Peacock starting February 16th
Past Lives - available to rent on all major platforms (will most likely eventually land on Max)
Poor Things - still in theatrical wide release
The Zone of Interest - in select theaters

Quiz Answers: Oppenheimer- 13, Poor Things- 11, Barbie- 8, Maestro- 7, The Holdovers- 5, Napoleon- 3
How'd you do?