Lionsgate Filmmakers ‘Already’ Using AI Following Recent Deal
Movieguide® Contributor
Lionsgate announced on Sep. 18 that it struck a deal with AI research firm Runway, and the partnership has already been put into motion.
“It was a first-of-its-kind partnership between a major Hollywood studio and Runway, which would create and train a new AI model customized to the studio’s portfolio of film and television content,” Deadline said on Nov. 7 .
Lionsgate, the studio behind major franchises like JOHN WICK and THE HUNGER GAMES, just struck a deal with AI startup Runway…
READ MORE: MAJOR STUDIO STRIKES DEAL WITH AI STARTUP
Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson said there were some concerns at first, but those have been cleared, and the studio has been using the AI ever since.
“There were some questions when it was reported,” the Fogelson said at the recent earnings call. “Once we clarified for our filmmaking partners, for our talent partners, exactly what this was, how it would be used, what it is, what it isn’t, we’ve had great support, and our filmmakers are using it already.”
“We think this is very much going to enhance filmmaking and become an incredible tool for the community,” Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns added.
This news comes amid Lionsgate’s unfruitful third quarter results, caused by “continued industry disruption, the lingering effects of last year’s strikes, and a disappointing theatrical box office performance.”
The company seems to look at the new deal very positively.
“We believe that AI, harnessed within the appropriate safeguards, can be a valuable tool to serve our talent,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “And we believe that over the long term, it will have a positive transformational impact on our business.”
He added there will be “discipline” involved in the studio’s productions when AI is involved.
“Lionsgate’s use of Runway also is about reducing costs. As unions have been in an uproar over AI’s potential impact on employment, as well as its misuse surrounding actors’ likenesses, California Gov. Gavin Newsom sought to get ahead of the storm by signing a law that would guard-rail AI performance replicas,” Deadline reported.
“We think our partnership with them is gonna propel us to where the puck is heading as opposed to where it is” and “we think this is very much going to enhance filmmaking and become an incredible tool for the community.” Burns said.
Deadline shared a peek of what the AI might look like in a video that wasn’t made by Lionsgate or Runway:
