Cinema VinesArtificial intelligence has become a flashpoint in Hollywood, sparking anger that helped fuel the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. The debate centers on the use of generative AI to write scripts and create digital replicas of performers, a prospect that many industry veterans say threatens the craft of filmmaking. Director Kane Parsons, who helmed the cult hit Backrooms, has openly declared that he would “snap my fingers” to make AI “disappear” if he could, while Christopher Nolan has dismissed the technology as a “Trojan Horse” that should be met with scepticism.
Despite the vocal opposition, studios are quietly integrating AI across the production pipeline. In May, Amazon MGM approved an AI‑supported animated series called Punky Duck, only for its director to abandon the project two days later after receiving death threats. Meanwhile, the studio has also employed an AI‑resurrected Val Kilmer in the upcoming action film As Deep As The Grave. Behind the scenes, AI is being used for script development, production planning, shot generation and editing. In March, Netflix purchased InterPositive, an AI production company led by Ben Affleck, for almost $600 million, and last month the streaming giant announced that AI had been used in the creation of roughly 300 titles that year.
In June, Google DeepMind invested about $75 million in A24, the studio behind Backrooms, as part of a research partnership aimed at developing new AI tools. While the technology has not yet displaced human talent on the red carpet, the high‑profile appearance of Tilly Norwood—a fully AI‑generated actor—caused a brief moment of panic in 2023. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co‑chief, countered the alarm in July, asserting that “It takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that,” and that the tools would instead empower creators to realize their visions more efficiently, benefiting audiences as well.
Author Peter Woodbridge, who wrote the book Dream Machine, notes that many studios are adopting a “don’t ask, don’t tell” stance on AI usage. Yet some filmmakers are openly experimenting with the technology. Director Jon Erwin, in his latest film Young Washington, used AI to superimpose a raging torrent over a 50‑foot trench, sparing actors from a potentially dangerous stunt. Erwin described the experience as “creatively addictive” and admitted to staying up late experimenting with the software.
Netflix’s first foray into generative AI involved simulating a collapsing building in the Argentine sci‑fi series The Eternaut last year. Its recent documentary series, The American Experiment, incorporated 17 minutes of AI‑enhanced footage, including historical battle sequences that Sarandos said were produced “twice as fast and at half the cost” of traditional methods. Eline van Der Velden, the creator behind Tilly Norwood, guided reporters through her directorial debut, featuring a ten‑second clip of a British police arresting the AI actor—an example that took only four minutes to produce.
