European Dubbers vs. AI: Inclusion of AI Clause in Contracts

Variety reported that Sylvester Stallone’s movie Armor has reignited the debate over the use of AI in the entertainment industry, highlighting how this technological advancement is negatively impacting those working in the field. Recent issues about the use of AI include Adrien Brody’s Oscar-nominated movie The Brutalist using AI to improve the actor’s Hungarian accent, and dubbing the Argentine horror film, The Witch Game in English using AI. 

Stallone’s French dubber, Alain Dorval, also known as “Voix de Stallone,” recently passed away, and with the actor’s heist thriller Armor becoming available on Amazon France next month, they were not able to find someone to dub his voice suitably. So, a UK-based company, ElevenLabs, plans to recreate Dorval’s voice using AI, sparking controversy. 

Daniele Giulani, president of Italy’s national dubbers’ association, said they took the necessary precaution to protect themselves by including an AI clause in their contracts. However, they are the only voice actors who were able to do so. “We are the only ones that so far have managed to insert an AI clause in our contracts.” The clause stipulates that when a voice actor is hired in Italy, their voice cannot be cloned using AI for any project other than the one they were originally hired for. 

Dubbers in Spain, who first initiated the inclusion of AI in their contracts last year, are sadly still negotiating about it with studios. 

Hank Azaria, Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor who is perhaps most well known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, wrote an article in the New York Times about how he imagines that “soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to recreate the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons over almost four decades. It makes me sad to think about it. Not to mention, it seems just plain wrong to steal my likeness or sound — or anyone else’s.” 

He argued that no matter how AI was able to recreate Moe (one of the many characters he has lent his voice to for almost 40 years), it will still lack “humanness.” He also debunked the misconception that voice acting only involves the actor’s voice. He said their bodies and souls are also involved “to get the proper believability” and noted how he watched Dan Castellaneta (who voices Homer) and Harry Shearer (the voice of Mr. Burns) act and give full performances to give life to their characters. 

Towards the end, Azaria shared how he is a little worried. “This is my job. This is what I love to do, and I don’t want to have to stop doing it.” That is a sentiment shared by voice actors around the world.