Media analyst Doug Shapiro provides a thoughtful commentary on Hollywood's ongoing debate over the role of artificial intelligence in filmmaking. In his lengthy essay, “Fear and Loathing in Los Angeles (And the Hype and the Reality),” Shapiro explains why AI can't yet appear in movies.
“For Hollywood to use a GenAI model trained on copyrighted material is a legal lose-lose: it's either infringing someone else's copyright or implicitly undermining its own,” he argues, citing labor relations, unresolved legal issues, and technical limitations as three major obstacles to widespread adoption.
Shapiro argues that these challenges will likely prevent AI video generators from becoming a staple in Hollywood's production toolkit anytime soon.
There's no denying that GenAI has great potential for Hollywood, offering exciting new tools and capabilities that bring efficiencies to the entire production chain.
These AI technologies are useful for automating scriptwriting, concept art, and even visual effects processes. But the most potentially transformative are AI video generators like Sora, Veo, and Runway Gen-3, which can create high-quality video content from simple text and image prompts.
“AI is not going to replace Hollywood, but the bigger risk is that AI will disrupt it,” Shapiro warns. “Disruption requires two main ingredients: a disruptive innovation that lowers the barrier to entry, and incumbents that can't keep up. We have those two.”
Labor-management relations: a major obstacle
GenAI's potential uses are vast, but major studios face significant obstacles that slow its widespread adoption, one of the biggest being labor relations.
The film industry relies heavily on a talented workforce: writers, directors, actors, and crew, all of whom have a strong interest in how new technologies will affect their work. Recent labor disputes, such as last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and this year's narrowly averted IATSE strike, have highlighted the sensitivity of AI to the production process.
Shapiro summed up the industry's anxieties: “With the bad press from last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes still fresh and IATSE negotiations ongoing, anything AI-related has now become the 'third railroad' for studios.”
Legal quagmire
Beyond labor relations, unresolved legal issues remain a major barrier to the widespread adoption of AI video generators in Hollywood. The main concerns are around copyright infringement and intellectual property rights, creating a complex legal situation that studios must navigate carefully.
Copyright law, and particularly the concept of “fair use,” is central to this issue. Fair use permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission, but its application to AI training data is unclear.
Studios face the risk of lawsuits if they use AI-generated content from copyrighted material without the proper licenses. This uncertainty makes it difficult for major studios to deploy AI video generators without risking legal repercussions.
Shapiro points out that one example scenario would be where an AI model generates content that resembles an existing copyrighted work: If an AI video generator produces a scene that resembles a well-known movie, for example, determining whether this constitutes copyright infringement could be very contentious.
Studios must also consider the implications of using AI to create content that may inadvertently mimic the style or elements of copyrighted works, leading to potential intellectual property conflicts.
Additionally, there's the question of who will own the rights to AI-created content: The U.S. Copyright Office has stated that only material created through human creativity can be copyrighted, meaning that works generated entirely by AI may not be eligible for copyright protection, putting studios at risk for further legal disputes.
Generative AI makes its way into film schools
While AI video generators have made impressive advances, technical limitations prevent them from meeting the high standards required by Hollywood production companies. Shapiro said these limitations are significant enough to deter Hollywood studios from fully adopting video generation in the near future.
“Despite the incredible improvements in quality, these models will likely not be able to meet the needs of the most demanding directors, showrunners and cinematographers for many years to come.”
Shapiro points out that AI video generators don't have a deep understanding of complex cinematic elements like lighting, camera movement, or the subtleties of human emotion.
These tools are also poorly equipped to recreate the nuances of an actor's performance and lack an understanding of film history — in other words, you'd need to go to film school to be effective with GenAI.
Another major limitation is control over the final output: the director or cinematographer needs precise control over every aspect of a scene, from camera angles to color grading.
Current AI models don't offer the granular control needed to meet these rigorous standards, and the process of integrating AI-generated content with live-action footage is also challenging, as seamless integration requires a level of sophistication that AI tools have yet to achieve.
The Future of GenAI in Content Creation
Looking forward, Shapiro says there are several scenarios in which GenAI could become more integrated into Hollywood workflows. One possible future is for AI tools to be gradually introduced into pre- and post-production processes. But he argues that GenAI's most immediate and impactful use cases will happen on the sidelines.
“The most rapid adoption and most significant use cases will occur outside of the major Hollywood studios, including empowering large creative constituencies and independent producers.”
By democratizing access to advanced production tools, GenAI can pave the way for a more diverse and innovative media environment, he says. Independent creators, small production teams, and other sectors like advertising, music videos, and educational content are also poised to benefit from advances in AI.
These groups can leverage AI tools to produce high-quality content more efficiently and at lower cost, breaking down barriers to entry into the industry.
read more: Fear and Loathing in Los Angeles (Doug Shapiro)
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