OpenAI said it courts Hollywood in meetings with movie studios and directors

OpenAI wants to break into the film industry.

The artificial intelligence startup has scheduled meetings in Los Angeles next week with Hollywood studios, media executives and talent agencies to form entertainment industry partnerships and encourage filmmakers to incorporate its new AI-powered video generator into their work, according to people familiar with the matter.

The upcoming meetings are just the latest round of outreach from OpenAI in recent weeks, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the information is private. In late February, OpenAI scheduled preliminary talks in Hollywood led by Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap. In collaboration with two colleagues, Lightcap demonstrated the capabilities of Sora, a new, yet-to-be-released service that can create realistic-looking videos up to about one minute in length based on text prompts from users. Days later, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attended parties in Los Angeles over the Oscars weekend.

The maker of ChatGPT unveiled Sora in mid-February with a series of high-resolution clips that immediately caught the attention of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Sora isn’t available to the public yet, but OpenAI has already granted access to a few big-name actors and directors.

“OpenAI has a deliberate strategy of working collaboratively with industry through an iterative rollout process – rolling out AI progress in phases – in order to ensure safe implementation and give people an idea of ​​what’s on the horizon,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. In the current situation. “We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with artists and creatives.”

Artificial intelligence is a controversial topic in Hollywood. Many filmmakers and studios already rely on AI in pre-production and post-production, and realize the promise of a new set of AI tools. But the rise of generative AI services — which can quickly deploy text, images, audio and, increasingly, short videos in response to user queries — has also raised concerns about upending the livelihoods of everyone, from animators to voice actors.

Screenwriters and actors went on strike last year in part to fight for protection using technology. The two unions later secured some guarantees for how AI will be used in the entertainment industry. Media companies are also concerned about allowing OpenAI to train its models on their work without compensating them. Bloomberg reported that media outlets, including CNN and Fox Corp. and Time Magazine, have had discussions about licensing their work to OpenAI.

OpenAI is flirting with Hollywood as it tries to catch up with the competition. Tech giants Meta Platforms Inc. have revealed… And Alphabet Inc. Google has previously reported on text-to-video research projects. A growing number of well-funded AI startups, including Runway AI Inc. Pika and Stability AI are also working on this technology.

Market leader Runway previously told Bloomberg that its Gen-2 text-to-video service is already being used by millions of people, including professionals at production and animation studios who rely on it for pre-visualization and storyboarding. Film editors also create videos with Runway and combine them with other footage to create visual effects or B-roll, the company said.

OpenAI’s Sora is still in the research preview phase, and no pricing has been set, the company said.

© 2024 Bloomberg LP