‘Everyone Is Doing It’: The Truth About AI in Hollywood
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- Matt Belloni, founding partner at Puck, says 'everyone is doing it' in Hollywood, distinguishing between widely adopted corporate AI (streamlining, search) and murkier generative AI for content creation
- Netflix disclosed on its earnings call that 300 of its shows use generative AI, and the company purchased Ben Affleck's AI startup for $587 million — a deal Belloni called potentially a '$600 million press release' to buy Affleck's credibility
- The Affleck product lets filmmakers extend scene peripheries or generate coverage shots without reshoots, positioning it as a tool rather than a replacement — Belloni noted Affleck will likely earn more from the sale than from any of his films
- Amazon's AI generative studio, run by executive Albert Chang, triggered immediate online backlash against announced creators, driving at least one to step down from their project
- Google DeepMind invested $75 million into studio A24, and Lionsgate took a stake in AI-video company Runway, as tech firms deepen financial ties to Hollywood
- The Writers Guild permits AI assistance in the creative process as long as a credited writer stays on every script and jobs aren't impacted, per Belloni
- Production costs are forcing adoption: Pixar originals can't be made for under $200 million while box office fails to keep pace, pushing studios toward non-union labor and AI tools to cut budgets
Why it matters: Hollywood's cost crisis — Pixar originals costing $200 million-plus against stagnant box office — is pushing studios toward AI whether creators like it or not, and Netflix's dual strategy of disclosing 300 generative-AI shows while buying Affleck's $587 million company shows how the industry is normalizing adoption through celebrity-credentialed deals.
