Mega-Star George Clooney Offers SAG-AFTRA Strike Help; Regular Member Offers Strike Song
Country Singer, Actress Passionately Sings To Hollywood Studio Bosses For A Fair Deal, Growls Out SAG-AFTRA Strike Song
When country-soul singer and actress Temperance Lancecouncil learned that Hollywood studio bosses were seeking to use artificial intelligence to create and own an actor’s face and voice in perpetuity to avoid paying them, she thought, “Now that ain’t right.” Lancecouncil, a long-time SAG-AFTRA member, did more than just think, she penned a new release, “I AIN’T NO AI,” which depicts the hardships of a struggling actor, which George Clooney once was.
“I remember him telling the story of his humble, Hollywood beginnings. It’s commendable that such a mega-star tried to help. I’m the little guy, so I’m trying to help by using my voice in this strike song. But I do believe SAG-AFTRA issued a statement stating that what Clooney offered might be considered illegal,” she said.
With a country twang in her singing voice, her song offers an olive branch, of sorts, in a raw growl that can be heard as she appeals to The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), asking them to understand the plight of actors. In one verse, she cries out, “Hey Mr. Studio man, AI don’t understand cause it ain’t a human. I am the real deal, and we’ve got to close the deal.”
Artificial intelligence — simply known as “AI” — is a sticking point in the SAG-AFTRA negotiations. The home-grown Southerner, describes the studios’ potential ownership of an actor’s ‘likeness’ as somewhat “triggering.”
Lancecouncil: “As humans, actors should own themselves, they’re not artificially produced tech products whose face and voice can be computer generated and owned with the benefits reaped in perpetuity by the studios. I believe I’m correct in that nobody gets to own anyone in 2023, or any of their humanness.” That ‘ownership’ talk, she says, “struck a nerve and a chord” deep within her soul. “No entity is entitled to own one’s likeness forever and for free, simply because new technology has been invented. That’s an unnerving thought to me.”
She says her hope is that one of the AMPTP bosses might be emotionally touched by the song and gently process that analogy, then work with our president and her team to negotiate on the right side of history. She said she shares the same astrological sign as Clooney. “I think Taurus people are always trying to offer solutions when they see a problem.”
Very well aware that the bottom line is usually prioritized over humans, and empathy hardly plays a role, Lancecouncil, the daughter of two unionized parents, whose companies went on strike simultaneously during her childhood shares: “I, myself, as a teen worked in a unionized shop, a textile mill in the South that had no air conditioning, with people who’d worked in that heat their entire adult lives. I had an abundance of empathy for those hard-working people because I knew that I was heading off to school at summer’s end. My ability to go off to school was directly linked to the collective bargaining of union leaders.
“In Hollywood we have nepo-babies, well I’m a union-baby. Clooney, while the nephew of a Hollywood icon, has spoken about his struggles, financial and otherwise while trying to make it. My song encompasses that exact struggle of the actor. I take my hat off to him for making it on his own and for trying to help his fellow actors.”
Lancecouncil wrote, arranged, produced and performed “I AIN’T NO AI” and registered the song in its capitalized title form to symbolize the strength of the actor, especially on the picket line. “Actors look strong and proud walking those picket lines. My parents walked the lines. It brings out the pride in my soul and I couldn’t be more proud of our fearless leader, Fran Drescher. I’ll be forwarding a song copy to her. Of course I don’t have that Clooney money to donate, but if one red cent is made from the song, it’ll go to The SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
Continuing she says: “Our president definitely has the grit needed to lead her 160,000 members through this strike and to victory. And bravo to George Clooney, the mega star, for trying to help. I’m an unknown or lesser-known artist, but I’m still trying to help in my own way. I’m proud of my strike song and hope the bosses at The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will hear the song and be swayed to negotiate on the right side of history, and that means not attempting to own our likeness on any level, because as actors, we “ain’t no AI.”
“I AIN’T NO AI” — YouTube / Songwhip Links Below.
YouTube Music
I AIN’T NO AI by Temperance Lancecouncil (songwhip.com)
Click Link Below For More Artist Info. / Bio — Temperance Lancecouncil
Official TEMPERANCE LANCECOUNCIL
“I AIN’T NO AI” — Available on all streaming services.
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