Actor Judy Greer and journalist and television host Carla Swisher nailed it as soon as they sat down.
In a conversation held March 15 at the SHE Media Collaboration Space at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, the two took stock of their fears about AI, coming of age on screen, and assessing how the dawn of streaming has changed Hollywood’s traditional compensation model.
Greer was at the festival as part of the release of the indie drama “Chili Finger,” an authentic crime story that revolves around a fraud scheme gone awry. She will co-star with Sean Astin and Bryan Cranston. Greer said the job landscape in Hollywood is “scary” for people in the early stages of their careers.
“We’ve already lost a lot of money in the early days of all streaming TV. We can’t have those leftovers anymore. People who relied on them for health insurance can’t access it anymore. And that’s a big, big change, and that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Greer said. “There are so many jobs, but it feels like no one is working. And now people can’t get insurance.”
Greer, known for her roles in Two and a Half Men, Arrested Development, and many other TV series and films, told Swisher that growing older as an actress is creatively fulfilling. Swisher is a veteran journalist and author and currently a television personality. She is the host of “Cara Swisher Wants to Live Forever”, a documentary series about the science and understanding of aging that will air on CNN on April 11th.
“I’m very happy with the way things are going for me. The roles that are being offered to me are much more layered and interesting, and I’m loving this part of my life,” Greer said. “Moving forward, I tend to see older actors and male actors playing super angry villains and things like that. And I’d like to see women play those roles, like in ‘Retribution!'” I think that’s interesting. We’re going to do it in a smarter way,” Greer said.
“One of the things that has freed me up as I’ve gotten older is that I don’t have to adhere to a certain look anymore. I feel like that’s what makes the roles so interesting to me. Even myself, personally, I don’t really care as much about how I look in movies, how pretty I am. I don’t care anymore,” Greer said.
Swisher asked Greer about his concerns about making a living as a performer in the age of AI.
“Personally, I’m still a little shielded from the really scary parts, because I’m recognizable. My voice is recognizable. I didn’t need to be scanned[for possible AI replication]etc.,” Greer said. “It’s really our duty to fight for people at my level and above, the middle class that I’m doing, because background artist people, day player people, those are the people that I think are going to suffer really badly.”
Swisher admitted he has conflicting feelings about how to deal with rapid advances in AI. Greer agreed.
“If we can’t kill this thing and we don’t know if we should kill it, how can we use this superpower for good instead of evil? Can we use this superpower to elevate our art and elevate our artists, just like the iPhone gave young filmmakers, young people, young artists a medium? Is there a way to harness this superpower to help creators?” Greer asked.
The conversation touched on many other topics as well. The event ended on a positive note, as Swisher asked Greer to leave some solid advice for the audience. Mr. Greer answered without hesitation.
“I make my bed every morning,” she declared.
“It’s such a boring, basic thing, but I make my bed every morning. It makes me feel so connected. At the beginning of the day, when everything feels like it’s falling apart and the world is falling apart, I have my bed made, and it feels like there’s something so damn controlled and beautiful and tidy about it,” Greer said. “Make your bed. I truly believe that. Make your bed.”
(Photo: Kara Swisher and Judy Greer at the SHE Media Co-lab at the SXSW Festival on March 15 in Austin, Texas.)
