I've heard these critiques since the '90s at least. I'm sure there were plenty even during times that are now regarded as a golden age of artsy moviemaking, lik

I've heard these critiques since the '90s at least. I'm sure there were plenty even during times that are now regarded as a golden age of artsy moviemaking, like the '70s. The reality is simply that the sector rides waves, and at some point the wave ends. VHS was a wave. DVD was a wave. Mega-CGI (from The Matrix to Lord of the Rings to Marvel) was a wave. Streaming was a wave (Netflix threw money at productions almost senselessly, for a few years). Now that those waves are over, bosses' largesse is in scarce supply. Unions will do what unions are supposed to do. The only novel bit, in this dispute, is the role of AI and computer-generated characters; but tbh we could see this development coming for a long time. A simple example: the brother of Spider-Man 2099, in the comic, is a film director who makes movies completely on his own, via digital means. This was published 25 years ago.