Hollywood is entering its AI era

Business | Bots on the lot

Hollywood is entering its AI era

The technology is quietly playing a role in every aspect of film-making

Aug 4th 2026|LOS ANGELES|6 min read

Artificial intelligence is a touchy topic in Tinseltown. Rancour over the prospect of so-called generative AI being used to produce scripts and create digital replicas of actors was among the grievances that led to strikes in 2023. Hollywood hotshots have since continued to rail against the technology. Kane Parsons, director of the hit film “Backrooms”, recently said that, if he could, he would “snap my fingers” and make AI “disappear”. Christopher Nolan, creator of a new blockbuster adaptation of “The Odyssey”, describes it as a “Trojan Horse”, arguing that the motives of those championing it should be viewed with scepticism. In May Amazon MGM, a studio, approved an AI-supported animated series called “Punky Duck”. Two days later the director abandoned the project after receiving death threats.

Yet behind the scenes AI is quietly playing a growing role in every aspect of film-making, from script development and production planning to shot generation and editing. In March Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI production company led by Ben Affleck, for almost $600m. Last month the streaming giant said that it had used AI in the creation of about 300 titles this year alone. In June Google DeepMind, an AI lab, invested about $75m in A24, the studio behind “Backrooms”, as part of a research partnership to develop AI tools.

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