Lionsgate Will Share Its Movies with AI, Even After Compromising Megalopolis Trailer

Few issues are more heated in Hollywood right now than the use of AI—a tool that, for all its associations with dystopian science fiction, has the potential to threaten real work and take jobs away from real people, whether artists, screenwriters, actors, or even film critics. But given that AI can also produce projects without the burden of human considerations (like fair pay and working conditions, etc.), it’s no wonder the entertainment industry is still buzzing about ways to use it.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Variety and other publications, and announced in a press release, Lionsgate has teamed up with AI research startup Runway. Touted as a “first-of-its-kind partnership” in the press release, the arrangement focuses on building and training a new AI model tailored to Lionsgate’s proprietary catalog. Designed primarily to help Lionsgate Studios, its filmmakers, directors and other creative talent scale their work, the model generates cinematic video that can be further iterated on using Runway’s suite of curated tools.

The press release also included a quote from Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns: “Runway is a visionary, best-in-class partner who will help us leverage AI to develop cutting-edge, capital-efficient content creation capabilities. Several of our filmmakers are already excited about the potential applications of AI in pre- and post-production. We see AI as a great tool to extend, enhance and complement our existing operations.” (The specific excited filmmakers were not named.)

As Variety notes, Lionsgate’s library of films and TV shows includes some 20,000 titles, the most notable of which include: Jan Wick, The Hunger Games, SawAND Dusk franchise. This year she also released Raven, BorderlandsAND MegalopolisIn an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Burns said the studio expects to save “millions and millions” by using the Runway production, with the publication adding that Lionsgate “plans to initially use the new AI tool for internal purposes, such as storyboarding — arranging a series of graphics to show how a story is unfolding — and eventually creating backgrounds and special effects, such as explosions, for the big screen.”

However, the WSJ points out that “Runway and other generative AI startups have been sued by groups representing visual artists who say the tech companies have violated copyright laws by using their work to train their AI models. A spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending litigation. The company has filed a motion to dismiss the case.”

This partnership, of course, ensures that Runway has full permission from the studio to use Lionsgate’s property in creating the new model. What do you think of this latest development in the ongoing “AI in Hollywood” saga?

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