He said that AI could write scripts for free

This A list mostly movie actor who is an Oscar winner/nominee was asked about the possibility of writers going on strike.

He said that AI could write scripts for free and thinks the writers should feel fortunate to have a job when AI could replace them.

As AI Comes Into Focus With Rise Of ChatGPT, WGA Seeks To Protect Writers From Robots

The robots won’t take over Hollywood if the WGA has anything to do with it.

One of the most interesting demands set out in the guild’s Pattern of Demands, which was unveiled earlier today, was the idea of regulating AI.

Or as the WGA put it, “Regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies”.

A few years ago, it would have seemed crazy that AI would be able to replicate the work of TV and film writers. However, the rise of ChatGPT and other services, has shown that it might be closer than ever.

For instance, I asked ChatGPT if it had a pitch for a reboot of AMC’s Mad Men.

“Mad Men is back and better than ever. This time, the show takes place in the modern day, following a cast of characters as they navigate life in the cutthroat advertising industry of the 21st century. Our main protagonist is a new creative director at a major ad agency, and she’s determined to make her mark in the industry. Along the way, she’ll have to contend with the old-school, male-dominated corporate culture, as well as a new generation of ambitious millennials. With stories of ambition, power struggles, and office politics, Mad Men will appeal to a whole new audience, while still retaining the wit and charm of its original incarnation. Get ready for a wild ride,” ChatGPT wrote. – Source

Charlie Kaufman Calls Out Hollywood for Treating Writers as ‘Secondary’: ‘The Rest Is Window Dressing’

Charlie Kaufman isn’t waiting for Hollywood to adapt any longer.

The “Adaptation” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” screenwriter was honored with the top film award at the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Kaufman used the platform to call for a much-needed change in the perspective of screenwriters throughout the industry during his acceptance speech.

“We are trained to believe that what we do is secondary to what they do,” Kaufman said, referencing executives (via Variety). “I have dropped the ball, I have wasted years seeking the approval of people with money. Don’t get trapped in their world of box office numbers. You don’t work for the world of box office numbers. You work for the world. Just make your story honest and tell it.”

Kaufman continued, “Our work is to reflect the world, say what is true in the face of so much lying. The rest is window dressing at best, ‘Triumph of the Will’ at worst. Adrienne Rich wrote, ‘I do know that art means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage.’ The world is beautiful. The world is impossibly complicated. And we have the opportunity to explore that. If we give that up for the carrot, then we might as well be the executives.” – Source