AB 2602 vs. Crew Misclass: Financial Threat in 2026?

Hey everyone, Lucas here. I'm gaffing a pretty ambitious indie feature next year, probably shooting on a mix of V-RAPTOR XL and an ALEXA 35. We're trying to budget super tight, planning on using a couple of SkyPanel Xs and some Forza 720Bs for the bigger setups. We've been having some backend discussions about potential legal pitfalls, specifically about two things that keep coming up around AB 2602 and the broader topic of misclassifying crew as independent contractors.

Now, I'm not a legal expert, but it sounds like both could seriously mess with our budget if we get it wrong. My gut tells me misclassifying crew could get ugly fast with retroactive pay, penalties, and all that. But then the AI consent stuff under AB 2602, especially if talent claims unauthorized digital doubles or something, also sounds like it could lead to massive payouts.

We’re trying to understand where to put our focus for risk mitigation. Which one of these, crew misclassification or overlooking AI consent under AB 2602, do you think poses the biggest immediate financial threat to a production in 2026?