An AI-generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting on top of a building has gone viral online.
This 15-second video is from Seedance 2.0, a modern AI video generation platform. The platform was launched this week by ByteDance, the same Chinese parent company that oversees TikTok. As the video circulates online, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) and other industry players have accused it of unauthorized use of copyrighted material.
MPA CEO Charles Rivkin said in a statement that the company should “immediately cease its infringing activities.”
“In just one day, Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 committed massive misappropriation of U.S. copyrighted material,” Rivkin wrote. “By launching its service without meaningful protections against copyright infringement, ByteDance is ignoring established copyright laws that protect the rights of creators and support millions of American jobs.”
The video is Irish film director Ruairi Robinson posted on X. According to his post, the 15-second video was born from a two-line prompt he built into Seedance 2.0.
Rhett Reese, writer and producer of the Deadpool trilogy and Zombieland, responded to Robinson’s post, writing, “I hate to say it. Maybe we’re done.”
He went on to say that people will soon be able to sit down in front of a computer and make movies that are “indistinguishable from what Hollywood is releasing today.” Reese says she fears losing her job as increasingly powerful AI tools make their way into creative fields.
“The Pitt vs. Cruz video surprised me because it was so professional. That’s exactly why I’m scared,” Rhett wrote to X. “My glass-half-empty view is that Hollywood is being revolutionized and is going into decline.”
Rhett is not alone in thinking that AI could “ruin” Hollywood and eliminate jobs. Having safeguards against AI was one of the main reasons both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild went on strike in 2023. However, some members argue that these measures, now nearly three years old, have not been effective enough.
SAG-AFTRA resumed contract negotiations with studios earlier this week, but AI remains one of the union’s top priorities. The actors union is expected to propose a so-called “Tilly tax,” a fee that studios would have to pay the union in exchange for using an AI-generated actor, in response to the introduction of Hollywood’s first AI actor, Tilly Norwood.
SAG-AFTRA could not be reached for comment as it is participating in media control during contract negotiations.
