Tom Cruise Stands Up in SAG Negotiations: AI Threats and Stunt Coordinators

During the negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers prior to their strike, Tom Cruise, 61, joined in via Zoom. The actor had much to say on artificial intelligence including what it may mean for actors and how SAG’s proposals on stunt coordinators should be accepted.

While certain SAG-AFTRA members ran their key points and issues, in the negotiations leading up to that union deadline for a new deal with production companies, Cruise emerged as the most high-profile guest speaker.

Reports also said that Tom Cruise suggested allowing actors to promote their films during the strike in support of the struggling movie theater business. However, as laid out in a memo by union president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, actors are currently forbidden from promoting new projects, appearing on interviews or podcasts and engaging in social media promotion during the strike.

In the press conference to announce the strike, Drescher stressed streaming, digital, and AI in disrupting entertainment’s industry business model. The call for respect and an equal share on behalf of the industry served as a trigger to make the decision to strike.

Before the strike, Tom Cruise’s success with the Top Gun sequel had earned high praise, as Steven Spielberg acknowledged that the actor’s work might have played a big part in saving the theatrical industry.

Cruise recently has been making appearances at screenings of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One to connect with fans before the film’s release for promotion of his latest entry in the action franchise.