Posted in: streaming, TNT, TV | Tagged: ai, artificial intelligence, SAG-AFTRA, snowpiercer, tnt

Snowpiercer Star Lena Hall Calls Out Season 4 Scanning/Capture Efforts

With the AI fight raging, Snowpiercer star Lena Hall called out Season 4 for wanting a "full body scan" and "full range of emotion capture."

If you're looking for an example of just how messed up the television business has become ever since a whole lot of big companies got jealous of Netflix and decided they wanted to be Netflix, too? Well, look no further than what's been going on with TNT's Snowpiercer. Back in June 2022, fans learned that Layton (Daveed Diggs), Wilford (Sean Bean), and Melanie (Jennifer Connelly) would have a fourth & final season to take control of humanity's future. But in the streaming world, 6+ months is a lifetime, with the series going from making a final run to the completed season canceled at the Warner Bros. Discovery network. The move is believed to be part of WBD's infamous hack-n-slash efforts for tax write-off purposes as the company sought billions in savings (with Tomorrow Studios reportedly shopping the final season as well as a potential prequel & sequel for a new home). And that's all before we get to what series star Lena Hall (Miss Audrey) had to share on social media regarding filming on the final season and a situation that they found themselves in that strikes eerily familiar with what the AMPTP was proposing regarding AI usage – one of the reasons SAG-AFTRA has joined the WGA on strike.

In a nutshell? The AMPTP proposed paying a background actor a day's pay to have their likeness scanned. Sounds pretty good, right? A day's pay for less than a day's work, right? But here's the fatal flaw in that plan: the studios/streamers would own that person's likeness forever – to use even after they've passed, with no say in how their likeness is used. And from that proposal, Hall took to Twitter to share an instance where they were faced with that very situation. "So… Snowpiercer season 4 did a full body scan and full range of emotion capture of all the series regulars on the show, not ever telling us the real reason why. Now I know why, and it's really disturbing because I didn't consent," Hall tweeted, adding that "they told us it was for special effects but were very vague!" As Hall sees it, the proposal would eliminate work for background actors who depend on those jobs for their livelihood. "Being a background actor is thankless and hard work; I've done it before. Some people rely on this work in order to make a living. Their days are BRUTALLY long, and they are sometimes just pushed around like cattle," Hall explained. "So this is such a HUGE f- you by the studios to them."

"We can confirm that TNT will not air season four of Snowpiercer," a TNT spokesperson said in a statement back at the beginning of this year. "This was a difficult decision, but our admiration for the talented writers, actors and crew who brought Snowpiercer's extraordinary post-apocalyptic world to life remains strong. We have been working collaboratively with the producers since last year to help the series find a new home where fans can continue to enjoy the compelling story and exceptional visual experience. We look forward to working with them on future projects."

"We love 'Snowpiercer' and believe season four completes a story with incredible talent that will entertain viewers while exploring issues of climate change and class warfare. We are so passionate about this series that we have acquired the rights to control the franchise," Tomorrow Studios' Marty Adelstein, CEO/Partner, and Becky Clements, a President/Partner, said in a statement following the news. "We hope to find the perfect partner shortly and finish a great ride with the final season." The fourth season is executive produced by new showrunner Paul Zbyszewski, Christoph Schrewe, Adelstein and Clements of Tomorrow Studios, Matthew O'Connor, Ben Rosenblatt & Scott Derrickson, and the original film's producers, Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, Miky Lee, Jinnie Choi, Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hun, and Dooho Choi. The show is produced by Tomorrow Studios, along with CJ Entertainment. ITV Studios handles international distribution.

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