Anything Goes

I have my own IP I'd like to pitch here eventually. Do I need a finished script for a feature?

Does anyone know how to change the settings in scrivener so that when I compile a screenplay to a PDF it won't split dialog or action lines from one page to the next?

Thanks in advance!

Hello:

Grasping various want to eat meat, potentially contemplate taking one day or more a week to reduce your meat eating for these animals and also benefiting your health.

For this and other cows - these feel too:

https://twitter.com/RobertoCardel18/status/1784722346609373192

Thank you for your consideration.

God Bless,

John German

The Dumbest Comment I Ever Heard From An Agent - Unbelievable

https://youtu.be/L01r7nnYEcM

Have you ever gotten a crazy comment from an agent? If so,

share it here and on the channel

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channel so you always know when a new video has been uploaded.

I'm not sure which lounge is the most suitable place to post this but there's something I need to get off my chest. Are video calls mandatory for communication on this website? In all honesty, they terrify me even more than meeting a stranger in person.

I sometimes have to think about costumes for actors. The trivial solution would be to use the internet to order clothes made to measure. But this has been a limited success. One can order clothes for business life or weddings, but that is about all. Sure, some companies offer special clothes, but one doesn't know what the quality is. And when it comes to mail order companies in other countries, they may cheat.

What is needed is an entrepreneur in the country where the customers are situated. The entrepreneur takes the risk when importing from low income countries.

But the entrepreneur needs a data base with sewing patterns. I think the entrepreneur would need a data base with something like 1,000 different sewing pattern to start a company. The cost for creating that data base would be something like one million dollars. So a single person who wants to start a company can't afford that.

My solution is to start a consumer organization which creates and runs the data base. Those who pay the membership fee are encouraged to use the data base to earn money. The data base is on the internet so people who don't pay the membership fee are welcome to use the data base to order clothes.

The problem is to start everything. Because the data base with sewing patterns must be created first. Fortunately there is a computer program which creates sewing patterns. Just feed it photos of people or dolls wearing clothes and the program creates sewing patterns. The program is almost finished so the inventor wants people to test it.

Here in Sweden there is a small university related to textiles and clothings. I discussed my idea with some people working there. They liked my idea, but could not help me. Same for the costume department at Sweden's public service television.

In the film industry, there must be companies which buys a lot of costumes. Anybody who can help me with contact information to them? For them, my idea should minimize their costs.

In the shadows of the towering achievements of artificial intelligence, a stark reality looms—an unyielding march toward automation that promises to decimate the landscape of employment as we know it. The data, grim and unforgiving, speaks volumes about the impending job losses that are set to redefine societal structures. In May 2023 alone, AI was responsible for 3,900 job losses in the United States, a number that only scratches the surface of what is yet to come.

Experts, like those from Goldman Sachs, paint a dystopian picture, forecasting AI's replacement of 300 million full-time jobs globally—an overwhelming 18% of the world's workforce. The tendrils of AI's reach extend deep into the heart of advanced economies where white-collar professions, once thought immune, now face existential threats. Administrative roles, teeming with routine tasks, and legal professions, reliant on the processing and review of documents, are poised to be usurped by more efficient, relentless AI systems.

The long-term projections are no less dire. By 2030, between 400 and 800 million individuals may find themselves displaced, their skills obsolete in the face of AI's relentless advancement. The displacement is not a mere shift but a potential upheaval of the global workforce, redefining who works, how work is done, and who reaps the economic benefits in a radically transformed world.

As the clock ticks down, the reality of AI-induced unemployment is not a distant threat but an immediate and disruptive force, tearing through the fabric of economies and communities worldwide, leaving uncertainty and unrest in its wake.

The Mirage of New Opportunities

While proponents of AI evangelize the creation of new job roles and opportunities as a counterbalance to displacement, this optimism is overshadowed by the harsh realities of the evolving job market. The creation of roles in AI development, data analytics, and machine learning, though significant, represents a sliver of hope that is accessible only to a privileged few. These high-skill roles demand a level of expertise and education that is out of reach for the vast majority of those displaced by automation.

Moreover, the promise of AI in enhancing existing jobs, such as in healthcare, where it aids diagnosis and treatment, glosses over the broader implications of widespread automation. For every job enhanced or created, multiple others are rendered obsolete, creating a vacuum that cannot be filled by the limited number of specialized positions AI brings forth. This disparity creates a chasm between the skilled and the unskilled, the adaptive and the obsolete.

Regional variations in the impact of AI further complicate the narrative. While advanced economies battle with the displacement of routine and administrative tasks, emerging markets face a dual threat: less immediate disruption but a crippling lack of infrastructure to leverage AI for economic gain. This global inequality in the benefits and burdens of AI ensures that while some regions may glimpse the future of work, others are left grappling with widening economic disparities.

In response, calls for reskilling and upskilling are well-intentioned but insufficient. Training programs, while necessary, cannot keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI technology and the sheer scale of job displacement it causes. Furthermore, regulatory and ethical considerations, such as addressing bias in AI algorithms, while crucial, do not mitigate the immediate economic impacts of job loss.

Thus, the narrative of AI as a harbinger of equal opportunity is fundamentally flawed. The reality is a stark landscape where the benefits of AI are reserved for a select few, while the majority are left to navigate a dwindling pool of employment opportunities, highlighting a grave imbalance that threatens to deepen societal divides rather than bridge them.

The Descent into Dystopia

As the relentless march of artificial intelligence reshapes our economic landscape, the consequences of inaction are dire. The burgeoning wave of AI-induced unemployment is not merely an economic downturn; it is a catalyst for societal upheaval. If preventive measures are not put in place immediately, the massive job losses will lead to unprecedented levels of homelessness and poverty, fueling a surge in crime as millions struggle for survival in a rapidly changing world.

This descent into chaos risks paving the way for a new era of global authoritarianism. Governments, in a bid to maintain order and control over increasingly desperate populations, may turn to more oppressive measures. They will justify the erosion of democratic values as necessary to stabilize societies fractured by economic disparities and social unrest.

Moreover, in this new world order, the very essence of what it means to be human is at risk. As corporations leverage AI not just to replace human labor but also to influence decision-making and shape cultural norms, the distinction between person and entity blurs. The term ‘human l’ could become secondary to ‘person’ — a broader classification that extends rights and identities to corporate entities at the expense of individual liberties.

The stakes are extraordinarily high. Without a comprehensive and immediate response that includes robust social safety nets, proactive reskilling programs, and stringent regulations on AI development and deployment, we stand on the brink of irrevocably altering the fabric of society. The challenge is not only to manage the disruption AI brings but also to prevent it from undermining the foundational principles of equity and humanity that underpin our civilization.

To avoid this dystopian future, it is imperative that we act now. Societies around the world must come together to forge a path that respects the transformative power of AI while safeguarding the dignity and security of every individual. Failure to do so could mean descending into a world where chaos, authoritarianism, and corporate dominance redefine what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence.

We've been experimenting with the mashup of live theater and streaming / PPV. Our model is similar to the live teleplays done by the networks in the late ’50s and early ’60s on Playhouse 90, Studio One, The Goodyear Television Playhouse, etc.

We're in pre-production for our most ambitious project thus far, a full two-act play by playwright /screenwriter Tim Boland. He's got both theater and film credits and is excited to be trying a new hybrid approach.

It's a way to create engaging content with decent production value at extremely low cost. Thus, it's a decent on-ramp for new work development. We also think its a way to breath new life into the world of live theater, especially beyond major markets. But it requires a skillset mixture that isn't easily available in conventional theater, film or television.

Is anyone else dabbling with unconventional models like this?

I thought of posting this in the OTT/Streaming category but it doesn't quite fit.

Hey Stage 32, I gotta fun challenge for Earth Day: what's the best animated octopus you've ever seen? I'm going for Hank from Finding Dory, though that character model almost broke Pixar as they've apparently admitted. Which one of y'all can show me a better octopus?