The Pen is Mightier Than the Robot? Writers Draw the Line with AI
Hollywood writers, after one of the longest labor strikes in history, have secured a significant victory over the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the film and television industry. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) managed to strike a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, establishing strict guidelines on how AI can be used in the industry. The contract doesn't ban AI but imposes limitations to ensure that the technology remains under the control of the workers and doesn’t replace them.
The deal prohibits studios from using AI to write or edit scripts and from treating AI-generated content as "source material" that could be assigned to screenwriters for adaptation at lower fees and lesser credit. The contract allows AI to be used as a tool but ensures it doesn’t undermine writers' roles or reduce their wages. It maintains that AI is complementary to humans and should be under the control of the writers, not the studios. If writers adapt output from AI models, it will still be considered an original screenplay. Studios are also required to disclose any use of AI in providing material to the writers. While writers can choose to use AI as a research tool, they cannot be forced to use it. (Source: Guardian)
FTX Auditor Under Fire: SEC Sues Prager Metis for Independence Violations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated a lawsuit against accounting firm Prager Metis for purported violations pertaining to auditor independence, citing the incorporation of indemnification provisions in engagement letters during December 2017 to October 2020. Prager Metis is contending the allegations, asserting that the contested provisions never influenced the quality of their audits nor were enforced. The firm was associated as an auditor for the FTX Group; however, the SEC clarifies that the accusations are not related to any FTX matters. The SEC aims to secure an injunction and penalties against Prager Metis, with the investigation currently in progress. (Source: Reuters)
Blockchain Meets AI-enabled Entertainment: A New Era of Content Creation with Story Protocol
Story Protocol, developed by entrepreneur Seung Yoon Lee, is a groundbreaking blockchain-based platform aspiring to reconfigure the $2.3 trillion entertainment and media industry. The integration of artificial intelligence in content creation acts as a catalyst for this initiative, allowing exponential growth in fan-generated content and posing challenges to traditional copyright frameworks, thereby making a system like Story Protocol essential. The platform allows creators to manage, collaborate, and set terms of licensing and remuneration through Ethereum-based smart contracts, optimizing interactions and transactions between creators and fans, and enabling fans to influence and monetize their contributions. With substantial backing, including a $54 million investment led by Andreessen Horowitz, Story Protocol heralds a shift in intellectual property management and content production in an era dominated by AI innovations and fan-driven content. (Source: Forbes)
A Leap in Battery Efficiency: Dalhousie University's Tape Discovery.
Researchers at Dalhousie University have discovered a new way to extend the battery life of most laptops and cellphones by identifying a power-drainage flaw. The standard lithium-ion batteries use polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tape to hold its components together, which can dissolve due to a chemical reaction in the battery, causing charge depletion without sending out an electrical current—a phenomenon called self-discharge. The researchers have found that replacing PET tape with chemically stable polypropylene (PP) tape can decrease self-discharge by up to 70% and increase battery life by up to 10%. Polypropylene tape, having stronger chemical bonds, is more stable and costs about the same as PET tape, offering a simple and cost-effective solution for manufacturers. (Source: CBC)
Windows 11 Update: Microsoft Goes Big on AI Microsoft’s latest update to Windows 11 brings a suite of AI-powered enhancements and features aimed at creating a more intuitive and versatile user experience. Here's a condensed overview:
Windows Copilot: Acts as an AI-powered digital assistant, integrating many parts of Windows, controlling settings, launching apps, and answering queries.
AI-Enhanced Paint: Equipped with Photoshop-like features, it supports transparency, layers, and an AI image generator called “Paint Cocreator,” which creates images based on text prompts and selected styles.
Upgraded Snipping Tool: AI allows for text extraction and redaction from images and sharing in other apps, with automatic redaction for sensitive information.
AI-Powered Photos App: Offers a background blur option that auto-identifies the background, enabling customization of blur intensity and areas to be blurred.
Improved Windows Backup App: Facilitates seamless migration to new devices by backing up existing settings to the cloud
Windows 365 Integration: Incorporates Windows 365 Cloud PCs, enabling direct boot and switch between local desktop and Cloud PC within Windows 11.
Dev Home for Developers: Offers an efficient setup for Windows dev machines, utilizing Windows Package Manager to install necessary tools and apps and configuring coding environments in the cloud.
These features are rolling out progressively, with availability to all users anticipated in the coming months, and further advancements are expected in the Windows 11 2023 update. (Source: TheVerge)
Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist who is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own
Claims about a breakthrough in superconductor technology that could revolutionize the power, transportation, and chip industries have sparked surges in some Korean and Chinese stocks, despite skepticism from scientists. The excitement began after a report from South Korean researchers stated they had synthesized the world's first superconductor able to conduct electricity at room temperature and ambient pressure. The superconductor, named LK-99, could be disruptive for a wide range of industries if it can be mass-produced. However, commercialization seems difficult as LK-99 appears to have insufficient ductility to be made into wires. (Source: BNN Bloomberg)
Tech Giants Google and Microsoft Bet Big on AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most important and competitive fields in the tech industry, and two of the biggest players are Microsoft and Google. According to a recent report by CSET, a research center at Georgetown University, Microsoft and Google spent an estimated $19.6 billion and $27.6 billion on AI research and development in 2020, respectively. These figures are based on analyzing the companies' financial statements, patents, publications, and other indicators of AI activity. The report also compares the AI spending of Microsoft and Google with other tech giants, such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and IBM, as well as the US government. The report reveals that Microsoft and Google are leading the pack in terms of AI investment, innovation, and talent acquisition and that they are likely to maintain their dominance in the near future. You can read the full report here. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
Canadian Farmer Ordered to Pay for Contract Confirmed by Emoji
A Canadian judge has ruled that a "thumbs-up" emoji can be as valid as a signature in a contract, ordering a farmer to pay CAD 82,000 ($61,442) for an unfulfilled contract. The case revolved around a grain buyer who sent a contract to the farmer via text message, asking for confirmation. The farmer responded with a thumbs-up emoji but did not deliver the agreed-upon flax. The judge argued that courts need to adapt to the "new reality" of how people communicate, dismissing concerns that this ruling could lead to new interpretations of other emojis. (Source: The Guardian)
Hollywood Writer's Strike Helps Netflix Pool $5 Billion in Cash
In the midst of Hollywood writers and actors' strikes, Netflix has experienced an unexpected financial windfall. The streaming giant anticipates a free cash flow of at least $5 billion for 2023, a significant leap from the previously estimated $3.5 billion, due to reduced operational costs from delayed production schedules. The company plans to send the cash to shareholders through stock-buybacks. CFO Adam Neumann attributes this financial boost to the strikes and the company's successful crackdown on password sharing, which has led to an addition of over 6 million new paid subscribers in Q2, including 1.2 million in the U.S. and Canada. The company reported a profit of $1.8 billion on $8.2 billion in revenue for Q2. This situation presents a unique opportunity for Netflix to capitalize on the current labor disputes, demonstrating resilience and adaptability in a challenging market environment. (Source: CBS)
Free Generative AI Coursework for Professionals
Microsoft and LinkedIn have launched the AI Skills Initiative certificate program, a free coursework library for professionals seeking to learn and apply generative AI skills. The initiative, which leans towards Microsoft's Bing Chat built on OpenAI's GPT-4, consists of five modules, each with a video and some including quizzes or workbooks. Completion of all modules earns the learner a Professional Certificate on Generative AI, which can be displayed on LinkedIn Learning. The certificate program will be available in seven languages and free through 2025. Microsoft is also offering a grant for exceptional proposals on training employees of nonprofit, social enterprise, and research or academic institutions to use generative AI, with proposals due by August 15. Generative AI skills are among the top three training priorities for companies, with over 75% planning to adopt AI in the next five years. (Source: TechRepublic)
Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist that is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own
In our previous post, we looked at how AI has the potential to upend the way Hollywood works. With generative AI, the writers are rightfully scared about how the technology can potentially curtail their value in film production. With generative AI, I could generate a story in 35 minutes. It needed much work. However, the AI that I used was not trained on scripts. Neither was I. Imagine we both were. What stories could we generate then? Though AI is taking center stage in the kerfuffle, the friction has also exposed a hidden tension underlying the mass movie industry. It is the tenuous relationship between artistic expression and the commercial nature of the television and film industry. The studios that drive Hollywood only cares about recurring profits. They could not care less about art. They’ve always wanted a formula. Prompt script here. Press play on the production process. Put money in the bank and watch stock prices go to the moon. Everything else is irrelevant. Generative AI will give the studios what they want. But it will be a hollow victory. Why? Generative AI will eventually upend the Hollywood Hit Machine as well. But before we get there, we need to discuss how Optimus Prime got into our heads.
Tapping into Pester Power: Transformers and the Deregulatory Reagan Era Working on some side projects, I had the fortune of coming across Drawn to Television: American animated sf series of the 1980s by Lincoln Geraghty. The article explores the cartoon era of the 1980s, dominated by cartoons like Transformers, GI Joe, My Little Pony, Thundercats, and more. Geraghty ties the genesis of this genre to Star Wars. Toy companies aimed to replicate the triumph of Kenner's Star Wars action figures by creating a market through TV shows. These shows served as prolonged advertisements for an assortment of toys.
But why did this development wait until the 1980s? The Reagan Administration deregulated television and allowed toy companies to sell directly to kids of all ages and sizes. Before that, the FCC prevented such commercial interests from tapping into children's pester power.
What does this have to do with art and Hollywood?
Film critics did not think much of Transformers and the like. They saw it as “…little more than poorly drawn, glorified half-hour commercials for action figures and video games.” David Wise, a critical writer in the original Transformer series, gives us a better idea of how commercial it was. He explains that the "Rebirth" episodes were initially slated as a five-part mini-series. They were designed to introduce 92 new characters to sell as toys. He was then asked to condense the five-part story into just three episodes. Wise calculated that a new character must be introduced every 12.5 seconds. To make the storyline workable, Wise introduced groups of characters simultaneously, revealing their names and moving on – illustrating that Wise had to sacrifice the story for sales.
The Death of Optimus Prime: Killing off the Old Product Line for the New Perhaps, the fundamental contradiction between art and commerce can be seen in the toy company’s decision to kill off Optimus Prime in the full-length movie, Transformers: The Movie, released in theatres in 1986. Wise revealed that Hasbro was disappointed with the sales of the toy-truck-robot figurine. The decision was summarized as follows:
“It was a toy show. We just thought we were killing off the old product line to replace it with new products.”
According to this cold hard logic, Optimus Prime seems to be the ultimate unscrupulous used car salesman. However, instead of peddling to adults, he sells to kids. Through his on-screen sacrifice, they could sell Rodimus Prime in his stead.
What is the reaction from young fans? According to the same consultant, Flint Dillie, who came clean about why Prime was killed off, explains how traumatic this was for children who loved the series. Kids were crying in the theatres. Families were so upset that they left during the movie. They even took to their pens, pencils, and typewriters to register their protest with the company. Hasbro gladly gave in. They had us exactly where they wanted us. This turn of events would give sagging Optimus Prime sales the needed boost.
There can't be the best way to entertain children. Specifically, it’s hard to convince a child, parent, or anyone that such an extractive relationship is healthy. How does a parent calm down a despondent child who just saw their hero killed off? It’s probably not to offer them the latest “Prime” that Hasbro has to offer. The larger point, however, is that commercially-driven content clashes not just with artistic expression but how a transaction approach to content is non-optimal for us as a whole.
The Hollywood Hit Machine: Losing its Luster in the Age of Authenticity The writer's strike has a limited impact on the content I usually consume, published by YouTubers, podcasts, and other enthusiasts. This shift in popular preference speaks for itself. People prefer to hear stories from real, relatable people instead of the formulaic commercial narratives churned out by the Hollywood Hit Machine.
A good proxy of the shift is the decline in cable television.
As reported by Adweek for June 2023, during prime time, FOX garners the largest average viewership with 1.49 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1.32 million, and CNN with 635,000 viewers. These networks collectively attract approximately 3.46 million viewers, representing about 1% of the United States estimated population of 330 million.
Another piece of evidence is the sudden and swift demise of Quibi.
Despite the company raising $2 billion, retaining the A-list of Hollywood talent, and being led by the former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, the company had shut its doors after six months. The business model was to offer short-form content in the 10 to 15-minute range – short enough to be consumed on a train ride to work. Was the pandemic, as the company claimed, the reason for its demise?
Generative AI: The Great User Generative Content Amplifier? Now we finally get to AI!
As I argue in this Medium post, generative AI is about amplification, not abdication. The post speaks to the issue of abdication from a professional perspective. A lawyer, consultant or CPA can't rely on public-facing generative AI models to do their work. Instead, it can amplify their effort by putting polish on the rough notes they have gathered.
Similarly, it’s abdication to get generative AI to produce a fictional novel in 35 minutes, hoping it will receive rave reviews. According to the Wall Street Journal, a surge in AI-generated story submissions, influenced by online videos promoting ChatGPT, led to the temporary closure of online submissions at Clarkesworld, a science-fiction magazine. Publishers, including Clarkesworld's Neil Clarke, expressed their tendency to reject these AI-written submissions, characterized by grammatically perfect but incoherent and formulaic narratives.
Using generative AI to create these types of submissions signifies an instance of “author abdication." It's the generative AI version of spam. And like we have spam filters and other "internal controls" (like the infamous proof of work concept invented to fight spam), Clarkesworld and others will need to develop similar controls to separate the good from the bad.
Instead, budding authors must work hard to conceive storylines that resonate. It could take weeks and months to sort out plot lines and characters. And you will still need to know Da Vinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, or another video editing tool.
In terms of the maturity of the tools, they have yet to arrive. However, we can see that day is quickly coming. Consider the following that is already out there.
AI Image Generation is Amazing: The current ability to generate images from a few sentences is simply the stuff of science fiction. Using stability.ai, I used this prompt “Snowy winter wonderland with a lone cabin in the distance, surrounded by frosty trees and fresh snowfall, peaceful, serene, detailed, winter landscape” to generate the following image:
AI Image Generators Enable Panning and Zoom: As explained in this video, Midjourney can generate AI images and now can allow the panning of an image. It also allows a zoom-out feature.
Professional Narrators for the Price of a Latte: In Kevin's heroic struggle, I got a professional-sounding voice to narrate the story. The cost? Eleven Labs sells this for the bargain price of $5 a month. The next tier is only $20/month.
The first nonsuccessful film not produced by Hollywood is still years away. However, with the rapid pace at which these tools will improve, it takes little imagination to see that the cheque is in the mail.
Reel to Real: Is There Life Beyond Hollywood? We do not have to go far to see the types of stories that people will produce that are not driven entirely by commercial interests. Consider the historical drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul. The series chronicles the rise of Ertuğrul, whose son, Osman I, would establish the Ottoman State in present-day Turkey. And there are documentaries like Ava DuVernay's The 13th. The Netflix documentary explores the mass incarceration of African Americans in the US. The popularity of the Ertuğrul illustrates that there is no need to make up heroes when they already exist. At the same time, the success of the 13th proves that people are interested in reality – not just fiction.
To be sure, we can expect Hollywood to continue for the foreseeable future. Cable television still attracts millions, albeit with a much-reduced viewership from its glory days. However, the shift in audience preference towards content from relatable individuals, coupled with the rise of sophisticated AI tools, indicates that the dawn of a new era in filmmaking is at hand. It's potentially a future where anyone can tell a story, where unique voices are heard, and commercial interests don't kill off characters that kids love. This technological revolution might enable a broadening of storytelling, creating space for a multiplicity of voices and narratives beyond the confines of Hollywood.
Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist that is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, mentioned something worth reflecting on during a fireside chat with Tobias Lütke (founder and CEO of Shopify) at Toronto's 2023 Elevate conference:
"If you look at the prediction from maybe 10 years ago maybe even five, I think most experts would have say first AI comes for physical labor. It's going to drive trucks it's going to work in factories. Then it comes from the sort of easier parts of cognitive labor. Then it comes from the stuff that's really hard… Maybe it can write computer code someday - maybe not. And then maybe someday in the distant future (but probably never) it can do creative work. And of course it's gone the exact opposite direction…Almost everybody predicted this wrong."
The quote by Altman summarizes the amazement that many of us experience when interacting with Generative AI, witnessing how it can effortlessly generate high-quality content, whether it's telling a joke in the tone of your favourite comedian or writing a blog post in the style of a famous author.
Not everyone, however, is a fan. Its abilities, though in their infancy, have irked the creative crowd. I am talking about the writers in Hollywood, who are picketing as we speak.
AI: Taking Center Stage within the Scriptwriting Process?
They are worried about the use of artificial intelligence in the movie production process. The writers fear that producers may use AI to write scripts or fill in gaps in unfinished screenplays. This would result in an increased supply of scripts. When the supply of something goes up, the price goes down. That's the way capitalism works. Consequently, the increased use of AI could lead to a decrease in the need for scriptwriters, potentially affecting writers' earnings. While recognizing that this rapidly advancing technology could be a useful tool in some cases, the writers are demanding that production companies agree to certain safeguards regarding its use.
It’s tempting to think that this only applies to those picketing in front of Hollywood. The word “content” may send our minds to art, writing, and movie scripts. However, content generation is not just about the creative crowd. Consider that accountants, lawyers, and consultants are also content generators. Sure, they cater to a different genre and audience. And yes, their content is more likely to make you cry than laugh, it's still content at the end of the day. Moreover, this discourse extends far beyond the confines of movies, television, or streaming platforms, serving as an early warning sign, a proverbial canary in the coal mine, hinting at the impending profound transformations across all sectors and industries.
How good is this technology? Is it really worth protesting?
As they say, seeing is believing. We don’t have to speculate about AI’s script writing powers. We can try it out ourselves. Here is my attempt to do just that. Check it out and see for yourself:
Admittedly, the story was terrible.
It is certainly no competition for the quality and the caliber of those protesting in the Sunshine State. Both my wife and Efrim Boritz thought it needed some work. A lot of work. That being said, if we focus on the aesthetics of the story, however, we miss the point. The story, from start to finish, took a grand total of 35 minutes. Here how I generated the story.
Step 1: Fill-in the Narrative Arc
I took the five elements of Narrative Arc and completed it for my story. This was crafted in the following prompt:
Prompt: Draft the story using the following
“Exposition: A group of auditors working on an audit file for a bank in 2006. There is a deadline of two weeks. Kevin is the hero. He is the senior on the audit
Rising Action: Kevin is asked to audit a mortgage-backed bonds held by the audit client. He tries to understand the structure. He calls the bond rating agency. Doesn't get answers. Tries to call the borrowers no answer. Billy his manager wants him to just get the work done. He wants him to stop asking questions.
Climax: Kevin concludes that the bonds are worthless and must write them down. Billy insists that they use the current trading price. Terry the partner on the file must step-in to address this argument.
Falling Action: Partner decides to go with Kevin. Billy quits and goes to work for Lehman Brothers.
Resolution (Denouement): After the financial crisis, Kevin becomes part of the internal education team teaching him about the importance of skepticism. Billy has lost his job and is having a tough time finding a new one.”
The result was an outline with each element a bit more flushed out. Here’s how “Exposition” looked like:
“In 2006, a group of auditors are working on an audit file for a major bank. The team has a tight deadline of two weeks to complete the task. Kevin, the hero of the story, is the senior auditor on the project. He is responsible for overseeing the audit and ensuring that the team meets their deadline.”
Step 2: Expand out the Story
Then I asked it to take the text and “Expand and write in Michael Lewis's style”. Here is what it came up with:
“In the bustling year of 2006, when the financial world was basking in the warm glow of seemingly endless prosperity, a group of auditors found themselves hunkered down in a fluorescent-lit conference room. Their mission: to dissect and analyze an audit file for a major bank, a task with a ticking clock – a mere two weeks to complete the assignment. The pressure was palpable, the atmosphere charged with a blend of urgency and apprehension.
At the helm of this ragtag ensemble stood Kevin, the protagonist of our tale. A senior auditor with a keen eye for detail and an unwavering sense of duty, Kevin bore the weight of overseeing the audit and steering his team towards the fast-approaching deadline. His steady hand and calm demeanor disguised the internal churn of responsibility and the need to maintain professional skepticism amidst a sea of financial jargon and convoluted transactions.
Kevin's days blurred together as he poured over documents, cross-referencing figures and questioning assumptions. He navigated the labyrinthine world of finance with an uncanny intuition, a skill honed by years of experience that allowed him to cut through the fog of complexity to reveal the hidden truths beneath. Surrounded by his team of auditors, a diverse group of individuals each with their own quirks and strengths, Kevin felt the weight of their collective success or failure resting squarely on his shoulders…”
Rinse and repeat for the remainder of the outline and you’ve got a fully fleshed out story.
We all agree that this is not a work of art, but it only took 35 minutes. Now, imagine what I could create if I spent 35 hours or 35 days on it. Imagine further and think what the studios could achieve with an artificial intelligence that was designed specifically to generate movie scripts.
Was AI-Enabled Scriptwriting Truly Unpredictable?
No, it was not. This sci-fi thriller has been in the making for 20 years. As Chris Steiner describes in "Automate This", Hollywood had access to an algorithm in 2004 that could predict the commercial viability of a script. He writes:
"In 2004, a major movie studio allowed an algorithm to scan nine scripts of unreleased movies. The results of the analysis, run by a new company named Epagogix, were then tucked away. The movies all eventually hit the screen, and when the last one was out of theaters, the movie studio went back to take a look at what the algorithm, which was supposed to tell them how much money each film would gross at the box office, had predicted. In three of the nine cases, the algorithm missed by a wide margin. The other six forecasts, however, were bizarrely accurate. On one movie that the studio expected $100 million or more on, the total gross was $40 million, a huge disappointment.1 The algorithm predicted $49 million. Another prediction was within $1.2 million. Epagogix was suddenly on its way to becoming an indispensable tool for studios to use in analyzing scripts—especially ones that may be attached to big budgets—before the movie gets made. Epagogix was conceived and built by two movie lovers, one of them a lawyer and the other from Wall Street’s favorite of disciplines: risk management. The point is to minimize the risk of producing a stinker like Disney did in 2012 when John Carter lost the studio nearly $200 million."
He then goes on to describe the algorithm that analyzes a script based on a comprehensive report created by humans who evaluate various aspects, such as setting, characters, plot, and moral dilemmas. Despite its advanced capabilities, the algorithm still relies on human judgment to evaluate the script's language, story, and characters. But Steiner asks, presciently:
"What if there were an algorithm that didn’t need people for input? What if there were algorithms that could create the script itself?”
The Deeper Truth about Hollywood’s Existing Algorithmic Approach
There is a deeper truth in what Steiner uncovered: audiences are quite predictable. This notion seemingly contradicts the long-held belief that humans demand an infinite canvas when it comes to creativity, a canvas where one could expect unexpected twists, novel ideas, and a constant reinvention of concepts and narratives. Instead, 20-year-old algorithms are capable of predicting what most people like to watch.
Hollywood is clearly gravitating towards sustaining innovation, instead of pursuing truly disruptive narratives. John Wick is on its fourth instalment. And they just released the tenth instalment of Fast and the Furious. Yes, Fast X. By opting to reiterate tried-and-true storylines, Hollywood ensures its economic prosperity. However, the result is a not-so-creative landscape where sequels are incessantly produced, extending familiar plotlines to an almost infinite degree. This approach provides a measure of security, given the inherent uncertainty of box office returns. Yet it also confines the industry within the bounds of proven narratives, potentially at the expense of groundbreaking, original storytelling.
Hollywood studios are not in the business of searching for avant-garde composers, they're searching for chart-topping artists—those who can consistently produce hits that climb the billboards. And as for box-office bombs, they're a crippling blow to the account books—a $200 million heartache they'd rather avoid.
What about the value of creativity?
What about the pursuit of cinematic excellence, the weaving of a narrative so profound that it moves its audience to tears, laughter, or introspection? That's a narrative they've relegated to the bohemian fringe of society, the ones we affectionately refer to as “starving artists”.That creative crowd can dabble in the intricate arts of filmmaking to their hearts' content, while the Hollywood studios stick to what they know best—churning out billion dollar blockbusters, over and over again
This cold commercial reality births a Faustian bargain—one where artistic vision bows before the altar of profitability. It's the invisible contract that underwrites every script, each casting call, and the red-carpet premieres. It's the unspoken rule, the little secret tucked beneath the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. More on this and Optimus Prime in our next post.
Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist that is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own.
