It is no secret that generative AI can be used in the process of producing movies. Fears of unregulated uses of AI in movie making led to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, which ended with three-year collective bargaining agreements that limit and regulate the use of AI in writing and performers in movies.
Yet, AI tools are already being used in movie production, In 2023, the Motion Picture Association submitted a comment to the U.S. Copyright Office’s AI study to inform the Office of various uses of AI tools in movie production, especially for repetitive tasks. In 2024, when filmmaker Tyler Perry saw a preview of what OpenAI’s Sora video generator can do, he was blown away–so much so that he scrapped his $800 million expansion of his studio.
And it’s no secret movie studios would like to make greater use of gen AI, in part to cut costs. Movie revenues for 2024 are down over 10 percent from last year. Cost-cutting and profitability are concerns not limited to Hollywood, of course. Lionsgate Vice Chair Michael Burns issued a comment suggesting that filmmakers wanted to use AI in their pre-production (e.g. storyboarding) and post-production process (e.g., editing).
Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that Lionsgate, the studio behind John Wick and The Hunger Games, has agreed to a licensing deal to allow Runway AI to use its movies to train its AI video generator. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “the companies say that the new model will be ‘customized to Lionsgate’s proprietary portfolio of film and television content,’ and exclusive to the studio.”
Of course, with most things AI-related, the announcement sparked concerns, as Wired reported.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) and leading applied AI research company Runway today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership centered around Runway’s creation and training of a new AI model, customized to Lionsgate’s proprietary portfolio of film and television content. Exclusively designed to help Lionsgate Studios, its filmmakers, directors and other creative talent augment their work, the model generates cinematic video that can be further iterated using Runway’s suite of controllable tools. The partnership is the first collaboration between Runway and a Hollywood studio.
“Lionsgate has an incredible creative team and a clear vision for how AI can help their work – we’re excited to help bring their ideas to life.”Post this
“Runway is a visionary, best-in-class partner who will help us utilize AI to develop cutting-edge, capital-efficient content creation opportunities,” said Lionsgate Vice Chair Michael Burns. “Several of our filmmakers are already excited about its potential applications to their pre-production and post-production process. We view AI as a great tool for augmenting, enhancing and supplementing our current operations.”
“We’re committed to giving artists, creators and studios the best and most powerful tools to augment their workflows and enable new ways of bringing their stories to life. The history of art is the history of technology and these new models are part of our continuous efforts to build transformative mediums for artistic and creative expression. The best stories are yet to be told,” said Runway co-founder and CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela. “Lionsgate has an incredible creative team and a clear vision for how AI can help their work – we’re excited to help bring their ideas to life.”