Overview of The Town: Is This Hollywood’s First Practical Solution to Control AI?
This episode of The Town focuses on Hollywood’s accelerating AI problem and whether a new nonprofit initiative, RSL Media, could become a workable “consent layer” for AI use of names, images, voices, works, and characters. Host Matt Belloni interviews RSL Media co-founder/CEO Nikki Hexham about the proposed RSL Human Consent Standard, a public registry launching June 24 that would let creators and rights holders set machine-readable permissions for how AI can use their identity and IP. The episode also ends with a lighter Call Sheet segment about Taylor Swift potentially contributing an original song to Toy Story 5.
AI, Hollywood, and the Push for Consent
Hollywood is moving fast toward AI-generated and AI-assisted content, but the industry is still worried about model training on scraped material and the misuse of actors’ likenesses, voices, and performances.
Why RSL Media was created
RSL Media is positioning itself as a public, interoperable standard for AI consent, not just another private rights management tool. Its stated goal is to let artists and rights holders declare:
- what AI is allowed to use
- what is prohibited
- what requires payment or other terms
The company says it covers four main categories:
- Identity
- Marks
- Works
- Characters
How the Consent Standard Works
Nikki Hexham explains that RSL uses a stoplight-style system:
- Green light = allowed
- Yellow light = allowed with conditions
- Red light = not allowed
Users can create a profile through themselves or via a representative such as:
- an agency
- a lawyer
- a guild or union
The idea is to make rights and permissions machine-readable, so AI systems can check a shared registry rather than scraping first and asking questions later.
Example: Cate Blanchett
The conversation uses Cate Blanchett as the example co-founder and public advocate:
- Her voice or likeness could be marked as off-limits for training or generation
- She could allow certain uses under payment terms
- Her representatives could manage the permissions on her behalf
Belloni repeatedly presses on the practical details, especially whether a public figure’s entire online footprint can really be controlled. Hexham’s answer: the registry does not enforce the law by itself; it creates a notice and audit trail that helps existing laws, contracts, and platform rules function better.
Why AI Companies Might Care
Hexham argues that AI companies have incentives to participate because:
- they want legal certainty
- they want to reduce exposure to huge lawsuits
- regulations like the EU AI Act may require proof of compliance
- having a standard is better than operating in a legal gray zone
She frames the registry as a way to move AI away from “whack-a-mole” enforcement and toward a system where rights can be checked upfront.
The company’s pitch
RSL says it is:
- not anti-AI
- pro-consent
- trying to build a boring, foundational standard rather than a money-making platform
It is structured as a nonprofit/public-benefit effort, with the idea that others could build profitable services on top of the standard later.
Industry Adoption and the Role of Agencies and Guilds
A major theme is whether the standard will actually get adopted.
Current support
RSL says it has support from:
- CAA
- several CAA clients, including major actors
- European parliament members involved in the launch
Open questions
Belloni asks about:
- SAG-AFTRA
- the Writers Guild
- rival agency WME
- whether a single standard can realistically emerge
Hexham says RSL wants guild input and wants to work with major organizations so the system is easy to use and scalable. She also notes that some private alternatives already exist, but they are expensive and fragmented.
The Core Limitation: Standard vs. Enforcement
One of the key takeaways is that RSL is not an enforcement mechanism.
It:
- does not create new legal rights
- does not automatically stop misuse
- does not replace contracts or the law
Instead, it aims to create the infrastructure that enforcement can rely on. Belloni and Hexham agree that the legal framework is still evolving, but the registry could become an important part of it.
Notable Takeaways
- Hollywood is racing into AI, but rights holders still lack a universal system for signaling consent.
- RSL Media is trying to become the industry’s shared standard for AI permissions.
- The pitch is that consent should be a basic internet layer, not a premium feature.
- Adoption by AI companies, agencies, and guilds will determine whether this becomes meaningful.
- The episode frames this as a rare moment when the industry can still help shape the rules before they fully harden.
Call Sheet: Taylor Swift and Toy Story 5
In the closing entertainment segment, Belloni and co-host Craig discuss reports that Taylor Swift will contribute an original song to Toy Story 5.
Why it matters
They argue the move makes sense because Swift is:
- massively popular across demographics
- family-friendly and brand-safe
- highly useful for Disney’s awards and marketing machine
Oscar/EGOT speculation
The conversation turns into a prediction that:
- Swift could get an Oscar nomination
- Disney will likely campaign hard for her
- the song could become part of a larger awards push
- this may help Swift’s long-term path toward an EGOT, though her current Emmy is described as borderline
Bottom Line
This episode argues that Hollywood’s AI fight may be entering a new phase: not just lawsuits and outrage, but attempts to build a practical consent infrastructure before the market fully ossifies. RSL Media is presented as an early attempt to create a universal, machine-readable standard for AI rights and permissions, while the Taylor Swift segment provides a lighter reminder of how strategically Disney plays the awards and IP game.