0:00Hello everyone and welcome to NOT an episode of the Twin Peaks Retrospective. I am one of your anti-cogos, Ashley Dero, joined as always by Anti-host aka Not the Lickert Guy, not John. How's it going? Uh, it's not going badly. So is that, is that a double negative for emphasis or is that a double negative for negation? Uh, what? I think that that's part of our separate episode, the spooky grammar cast. Uh, look forward to that coming out never, wink wink. Uh, yeah, both. Um, so this is, as you pointed out, Ashley, this is not an episode of the Twin Peaks Retrospective.
0:59Um, and we thought it is worth just taking a little bit of time out of the schedule to explain what is going on with HV, why certain things have been changed, uh, about the show, about our schedule, about the episodes we were planning on, uh, and why we're doing that. So we've been looking, uh, to ensure that we best support SAG after, uh, during this strike, as people who are not yet members of the union, uh, but we, we could be in, you know, given our career, given what we do here on the show, there's a very real chance that we could in the future be SAG members.
1:34Mm-hmm. And so we wanted to respect both the fact that we are seeking future membership potentially, as well as the fact that the union is on strike against these studios, um, by not crossing any digital picket lines in terms of our coverage here on the show. Yeah. So, um, SAG after her have been very clear that they, uh, are encouraging people not to promote, um, productions from struck studios. Um, as Ashley pointed out, we exist in a slightly odd position, um, because what we do technically doesn't fall within the, uh, the kind of bounds of promotion, because what we do is, like, um, film, film criticism and film analysis, which, um, you know, we, we could keep doing everything, um, without, technically without being in, in, in kind of violation or of, did, crossing those digital picket lines.
2:27However, we absolutely want to stand in solidarity with, um, both SAG after and the WGA, uh, who are, on strike thanks to studios, absolutely, brazen refusal to pay creatives, hard working talent, um, what they actually deserve and what they can actually live on. Um, so Ashley, do you want to, should we kind of talk about what's going to change whilst the strike is ongoing? So, SAG after has specifically stated that like if you do like a watch along fan cast type of podcast that that would be crossing the digital picket line, um, against struck works and struck studios, the Twin Peaks retrospective is professional film criticism, but it does get us a little uncomfortable close to something more like a watch along fan cast.
3:16So we've made the decision to pause the Twin Peaks retrospective until, uh, the studios yield to the demands of SAG after and the strike officially comes to a close. Yeah. So, um, sadly Twin Peaks season two retrospective will be on indefinite hiatus until, uh, until such a time as the union to call off the strike. Uh, we are still going to be doing regular episodes of HV, um, however, what we, what you're probably going to see more of is older, older films, um, films which, uh, were not produced, but are maybe, um, being controlled by some of these studios, but we are trying to stay away as best as we can from anything that comes from a studio currently, um, struck by SAG after.
4:06Um, so yeah, we're going to be, we're going to be delving into the, into the deep dark and spooky crypts of horror cinema history. Yeah, we're going to be looking at a lot of older films, a lot of foreign films, a lot of independent films, just things that would fall outside of the struck studios. And, you know, depending on how, uh, so the longest strike and I think SAG after history was the 1988 strike. Um, and if this one goes longer than that, there's a good chance that a lot of the studios and projects under the interim agreement, I know a 24 has a horror movie that SAG after has allowed to continue production because a 24 has agreed to the interim terms.
4:45Um, and if one of those movies comes out, we'll definitely give that one a go. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so please do send us suggestions. Please do, um, let us know your thoughts. Uh, I think probably in the notes for this episode, there will be a link to some of the information from the union and there is, um, there are also some strike funds that I think we can put into the show notes as well. So people, if you, if you care about a horror cinema, the only way that we can continue to ensure that horror cinema stays, uh, such a kind of incredibly productive and exciting mode of cultural practice is if the people who make it are able to do so in a way that lets them live, let's them afford to live.
5:28Horror is, as we know, in the mainstream, phenomenally profitable, huge streaming services and new studios are deliberately, uh, keeping money away from the people who put in huge amounts of time, efforts, energy and creativity to bring us the, uh, the movies and creative culture that we love. Oh, I love that hang on. Horror is, uh, horror is upset about acts as directives and creatives being exploited by an unfair studio system. Horror is a union cat. Yes, yes, not only is horror a union cat, but a hacker wants you to know why SAG after is currently striking.
6:07Um, so, so we have, we have, uh, of course, they're striking over hours, wages and conditions, the kind of three classic things that all, all union strikes are about. Um, but I think it's, I think it's work worth, uh, picking a part a few of the specifics. Um, one of them is how streaming services, uh, have created their residual formula for actors. And it is very predatory. Actors get very little money. Um, and a lot of times when we, when we talk about actors, the first thing that comes to mind is celebrity. We're thinking of the rock or Tom Cruise.
6:39You know, these, these actors that have million dollar contracts and, you know, they have writers that include a yacht where they can rest in between shots and all that nonsense. But the, the majority of actors are just jobbing, you know, it's, it's a day job for them. They get, they go from set to set, from shoot to shoot, you know, like, and even, even high profile actors that are household names, uh, rely on this as a career. There's an anecdote from Bruce Campell, a famous horror actor that I think about a lot.
7:07And, um, it earlier in his career, he was applying for a job as a ranch hand. Um, and he had on his resume that he was an actor and the, the ranch boss was like, oh, how much did you make with that? And he was like, oh, yeah, I was like, you know, I made like six figures that you're doing some acting. And, and the ranch boss was like, oh, well, then why in the world are you applying to be a ranch hand? And Bruce Campell was like, oh, that was, that was last year. This is this year. Yeah. Uh, I think I, the statistics I don't necessarily have right of talking about.
7:37I don't have my head, but I think it's something like to qualify for health insurance, uh, through the union, you have to make it something like 26 or 27,000 dollars a year. Um, and as far as I'm aware, the majority of psych after members don't make that. Yep. So that's what this is about. The idea, it, it is a classic wedge issue, um, for, um, these big studios, big production companies and streaming services to, to encourage you to focus upon the household names. Right? And that is not something that a trap you shouldn't fall into because it's about ordinary, uh, talented actors, um, talented writers, talented, uh, people in the entertainment industry whose names you probably don't know, but faces you might recognize and they deserve your respect and solidarity.
8:21Absolutely. And another major issue of this sag strike is the use of AI technology. Uh, we're increasingly seeing studios doing AI scans to create digital copies of actors. So that they never have to hire those actors again and they can just use their digital likeness in perpetuity without paying them. We're already seeing this happen to background actors and Disney Marvel productions. They're being scanned and cloned not only without their consent, but without their knowledge. There are, there are stories of actors who, uh, played small parts in Disney Marvel TV shows, finding out that they've showed up and later shows as some kind of CG asset.
9:01Yeah. Because this is also a, um, app, oh, uh, I was just gonna say this has also happened for martial artists who have their stunts motion captured to be used in the future. This has happened for voice actors whose voices are going to be digitally recreated. This is a major issue because if we want acting to continue as an art form and cinema to continue as an art form, we need to stand behind sag in the WGA and the newly formed, uh, VFX union for Disney Marvel, um, because they're, they're people who actually make art and, and not just some soul is fucking chat GPT movie generator.
9:37Yeah, this was literally a joke in a, uh, in Bojack Horseman, right? And it's like a, like a dystopian idea, uh, and it's become kind of true and real. Um, and I think just the final, the final point that I, I, I think I want to drive home. It's two, it's two very quick things, which is that, you know, a hot, harry. You know, we get, we get what we kind of advocate for and fight for and defend. Right? If, if the, this fight is lost, then a horror culture and horror cinema, particularly, I think will be just drowned in a kind of deluge of AI generated, poorly done, uh, and made for free slop and we don't need that.
10:24Um, yes. And the second thing, uh, is just to kind of encourage anyone listening who also has a media or film podcast, uh, in horror or not, like we get the film culture that we defend and fight for. And if you are also a podcaster, then all we can do is ask and encourage you to think about your own schedules. It is phenomenally tempting to chase after the, the numbers that an episode on a brand new release might do or to try and score an exclusive interview with someone who is willing to promote something that, you know, really, they shouldn't, but like all of that short term thing is going to, is going to be taken away forever.
11:04So if you are a podcaster, if, um, if you love movies and you love horror like we do, then please, uh, please think about doing this for yourself, think about what, what schedule you can do, think about ways that you, we can make sure that we're not all of us as many podcasters as possible are not crossing these digital picket lines and supporting Sag After and the WGA. Links to information about the Sag After Strike as well as any strike funds are going to be in the show notes for this show and the show notes for many of our episodes as the strike continues in the situation changes.
11:40Uh, and we just wanted to thank you all for sticking with us, for sticking with Sag After