While artificial intelligence is the most prominent concern of screenwriters and striking actors in Hollywood who fear that this technology will replace them, the performers of dangerous scenes see it as an existing reality and not just a technology from the fantasy world.

Edited by| Paul Mitchel

Cinema section -  CJ journalist

Hollywood- August,12,2023

With the aim of saving money, studios have long been using computer-generated silhouettes in combat scenes, similar to what was adopted in the series "Game Of Thrones" and many films from the "Marvel"Universe.

But with the advent of artificial intelligence, production companies are testing new technologies that make it possible to dispense with humans and create complex combat scenes, such as those showing car chases or shootings.

This would threaten the career of performing dangerous scenes that are still impossible to separate from the Hollywood business, which includes various works, from the first silent films, up to Tom Cruise's action scenes in the "Mission Impossible" film series .

"Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and this stage is very scary for us," said stunt coordinator Freddy busigues, who has worked on several films, including The Terminator series, in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

Studios are now asking performers of dangerous scenes to undergo"scans" during the filming of the work, in order to create models of their three-dimensional images, without providing them with explanations on how to use their images.

With the advancement of artificial intelligence, these innovative images can be used to create very realistic "digital copies" of these people, capable of performing movements and conducting dialogues based on instructions received by the device.

Busigues fears that these symbolic images will quickly replace the main performers of dangerous scenes, responsible for small roles such as pedestrians who walk away at the last moment during a chase.

Studios will soon be able to integrate these avatars into scenes "thanks to special effects and artificial intelligence," which will deprive thousands of professionals in the profession of work.

Although the script is career-shattering, it is only the visual side of the problem, says the director of the film "Gran Turismo" Neill Blomkamp.

In his film, which is based on a video game that is a car race, the performers of dangerous scenes drive actual cars on the racetrack. The only one is a very dangerous scene involving a fatal car accident, which was produced digitally.

But within a year, artificial intelligence is expected to be able to invent collisions caused by high speeds, based solely on the instructions of the director, according to Blomkamp. "At this stage, we have dispensed with the performer of dangerous scenes and cameras and we also don't have to go to the ring," he continues, adding, "it will become very different".

Artificial intelligence is one of the reasons that gives the strike crippling productions in Hollywood an existential character.

In addition to the issue of better revenue sharing associated with streaming, the development of safeguards to regulate the use of artificial intelligence is a key point in the negotiations.

In mid-July, the Actors Guild confirmed that it was fighting for studios not to conduct surveys of actors and use their digital copies "in various future projects and permanently", in exchange for paying them for only one working day.

For their part, the employers say that they have proposed to the strikers clear rules related to pre-approval and wages.

And even if artificial intelligence is able to produce scenes of battles, explosions or accidents, boucigues believes that the human element remains necessary. He considers that "the audience is still able to distinguish" special effects, and this "affects the viewer in an indirect way". He points out that Tom Cruise's ability to shoot action scenes himself with the help of actual stunt performers in "Top Gun" and"Mission Impossible" is a point of pride for him.

"I don't think this function will disappear one day, but the field of work will become limited," the coordinator adds,"and it's more accurate" to use the performer of dangerous scenes with computer-added effects, to shoot the most dangerous scenes. However, this reality is already beginning to frighten a large number of his colleagues who joined the strike.

"I met a large number of performers of dangerous scenes, and they were scared and nervous,"says busigues.