Hollywood is secretly full throttle on Artificial Intelligence, creating a \u201cnew space race\u201d to generate the first (mostly) AI blockbuster.<\/p>\n
The film industry is notoriously slow to adopt change. Some directors refuse to swap 35mm film for digital, others feel using CGI or blue screen \u201ccompromises their art.\u201d<\/p>\n
Therefore, AI has officially been met with extreme skepticism by more entrenched filmmakers. However \u2014 as is always the way in two-faced, back-biting, cutthroat Hollywood \u2014 that also means behind the scenes, every studio, filmmaker, and screenwriter worth their salt are desperately trying to harness its power to push the boundaries and create something new to wow audiences with.<\/p>\n
Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Schrader all worked together on \u201cTaxi Driver.\u201d Scorsese and Schrader have both expressed excitement about AI. De Niro is more on the fence. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThe space race was about being first, but it was also about inspiring the world that we should keep competing and keep investing [in the technology]. Bigger than being first, which is fleeting, is inspiring the world,\u201d Bryn Mooser, who has two Academy Award nominations for documentary shorts, told The Post.<\/p>\n
Although completely AI-generated movies have been made, so far they have tended to be low-budget or online-only affairs created by ambitious and talented people, but unlikely to score a spot at your local multiplex anytime soon.<\/p>\n
However, household names are testing the waters and teasing their involvement with AI, which sources say probably goes much further than they are letting on.<\/p>\n
In 2025, legendary director Martin Scorsese aligned with the German AI company Black Forest Labs to use its technology, announcing it would be part of pre-production and creating storyboards.<\/p>\n
This Is the real Matthew McConaughey, but when you hear his voice, it might be an AI version. WireImage<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m interested in the intersection of technology and storytelling, and seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences,\u201d he somewhat cryptically told the New York Times.<\/p>\n
Traditionalists were outraged that the man who previously labored over hand-drawn boards for movies like \u201cRaging Bull,\u201d painstakingly sketching boxing fight scenes so their ragged lines conveyed the energy he wanted from star Robert De Niro, would eschew his natural talents to use technology.<\/p>\n
But as Scorsese and many others like him know, any new tool presents an opportunity, and if you\u2019re not involved, you\u2019ll be left behind.<\/p>\n
Ben Affleck partnered in a company that sold its AI tech to Netflix for some $600 million. FilmMagic<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are scared to admit it publicly, but it is a tool that gives an advantage. If you don\u2019t use it, you\u2019ll be at a disadvantage to those who are using AI,\u201d David Defendi, a screenwriter and founder of an AI software company, told The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n
Seeing the opportunity, Oscar-winner Ben Affleck invested in AI startup InterPositive. They have said their technology can be used to adjust the lighting in scenes,\u00a0remove stunt ropes, or correct continuity errors \u2014 the kind of things that are handy on real sets, shooting real actors.<\/p>\n
Netflix bought the company in a deal worth up to $600 million<\/a>, which insiders say is a lot of money for apparent \u201crope-removing\u201d tech.<\/p>\n Bryn Mooser told The Post that an AI hit \u201cwill be a real wake-up call.\u201d Courtesy of Asteria<\/p>\n Keen not to tip their hands, the main players in Hollywood are playing their cards close to their vest. \u201cThe thing with AI right now in Hollywood: Everyone\u2019s lying just a little bit\u2026 Studios are lying about how much they\u2019re using it,\u201d media mogul Janice Min recently told Business Insider.<\/p>\n They\u2019re also tiptoeing around angry movie industry unions, who are all daring someone to step over the line and admit to using AI in a role that took work away from any creative, vowing all hell will break loose when they do.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n However, once that genie is out of the bottle, it\u2019s open season.<\/p>\n Mooser explained that forward-thinking production companies are \u201cusing [AI] technology and putting in the filmmakers to make it happen. And when it does, alarm bells will be sent through all the studios. It\u2019s going to be a real wake-up call.\u201d<\/p>\n Casey Affleck also stars in \u201cKilling Satoshi,\u201d a movie being shot in a \u201cgrey box.\u201d Getty Images for IWC Schaffhausen<\/p>\n One thing unions have been particularly vocal about: no AI-generated characters, such as the controversial Tilly Norwood, a beautiful young lab-created female star, who had been the subject of anger and ridicule, but still landed a role in comedy-drama \u201cMisaligned.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Everything else, it seems, can be gotten away with. The closest thing to an AI blockbuster up for grabs so far is \u201cKilling Satoshi,\u201d starring Ben\u2019s brother, Casey Affleck, and comic Pete Davidson.<\/p>\n The upcoming Bitcoin-themed movie is being directed by\u00a0Doug Liman<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 who worked with Tom Cruise in the\u00a0drug-smuggling action-comedy<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAmerican Made,\u201d and will include over 200 locations that, according to\u00a0The Wrap<\/a>, extend from Antarctica to Antigua and will all be created with AI.<\/p>\n Pete Davidson will appear in \u201cKilling Satoshi,\u201d a movie with exotic locations that are made doable through the use of AI. Getty Images for Hellman’s<\/p>\n Filming is being done on a \u201cgrey box\u201d stage, where Casey and Davidson will act and have worlds created around them. Some of the editing will also help smooth things over.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s not enough to upset the traditionalists and unions, the budget surely will. Liman claimed the movie\u2019s budget dropped from $300 million to $70 million thanks to the use of AI, slashing travel costs and reducing shooting time.<\/p>\n Another big indie director, Darren Aronofsky, Oscar-nominated for directing \u201cBlack Swan,\u201d has thrown himself headlong into AI-created work, executive producing a collection of American Revolution shorts called \u201cOn This Day\u2026 1776.\u201d They were met with mixed reviews, but they were certainly a landmark in AI creation.<\/p>\n Darren Aronofsky has gotten his feet wet by using AI in an online history-oriented series. Getty Images<\/p>\n From the actors\u2019 side, many have copyrighted their images to prevent misuse online, such as \u201cInterstellar\u201d and \u201cMagic Mike\u201d star Matthew McConaughey, who filed eight trademark applications\u00a0to stop his likeness from appearing online.<\/p>\n One of the hottest trends among actors is to work with a lab to scan their digital image, so it can be used in AI productions without them lifting a finger.<\/p>\n Such tech is being used to bring Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, back to life. His last announced movie, \u201cDeep as the Grave,\u201d is now being finished with archival footage and AI creations of him.<\/p>\n British actor Michael Caine retired years ago, but he has licensed his voice to the company ElevenLabs for use in various commercial situations, including narration of \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d audio book. It is Sir Michael\u2019s voice, but done through AI, so he did not need to read the entire book out loud.\u00a0McConaughey \u2014 an investor in the company \u2014 is using the same tech to translate his voice into Spanish. It\u2019s reasonable to think his image and likeness may end up being an ElevenLabs project in the future.<\/p>\n This is the AI version of the late Val Kilmer that will allow him to act in a movie after his death. Variety<\/p>\n Meanwhile, one of Scorsese\u2019s old pals, screenwriter-turned-director Paul Schrader \u2014 who scripted \u201cTaxi Driver\u201d and \u201cRaging Bull\u201d\u2014 is on board with the new AI dawn.<\/p>\n He\u2019s had a few hiccups, including an abandoned remake of a John Wayne movie and the Screen Actors Guild forbidding him from using computer-generated characters in his in-production film noir,\u00a0but he\u00a0anticipates an upcoming AI film.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I get out, there will be 10 or 20 AI films ahead of me. And one of those is going to make a lot of money,\u201d he predicts.<\/p>\n The real Val Kilmer, when he was still alive. The AI version of him will appear in a movie that he was too sick to make. Getty Images<\/p>\n And with the way online virality works now, perhaps that movie won\u2019t even come from Hollywood at all.<\/p>\n