Tinseltown is looking to poach some of Silicon Valley’s AI talent.
Driving the news: Over 10% of new Hollywood job postings in June were for AI-related positions, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.
Studios and streamers like Netflix, Amazon MGM, and Disney are hiring for a range of AI roles, including senior positions tasked with integrating AI technologies into films.
Catch-up: Hollywood is trying to walk a fine line between embracing AI tools (which can cut their production costs by up to 50%) and not alienating the filmmakers and audiences that have largely disavowed the technology as a creativity killer.
Some studios have been more upfront than others about their AI use. A24 signed a new AI partnership with Google in June, while Amazon MGM recently launched a GenAI Creators' Fund to bankroll AI-generated animated movies.
Netflix has openly touted the resources it has saved using generative AI for visual effects in its shows and recently acquired Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking company, InterPositive, for ~US$600 million.
Why it matters: It’s not just the Hollywood execs advocating for AI anymore — top creatives in the industry like Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Demi Moore have become more vocal in their support for the technology (at least in some use cases).
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, recently said that rejecting AI in filmmaking would be “like picking a horse and buggy over a car.”
Our take: Despite pushback from some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, it now looks inevitable that studios will incorporate AI into their production process. The question now is how much they can get away with before facing a backlash from audiences.—LA
