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AI Technology

Lionsgate Embraces AI in Movie Production To Cut Costs (msn.com) 42

The entertainment company behind "The Hunger Games" and "Twilight" plans to start using generative AI in the creation of its new movies and TV shows, a sign of the emerging technology's advance in Hollywood. From a report: Lions Gate Entertainment has agreed to give Runway, one of several fast-evolving AI startups, access to its content library in exchange for a new, custom AI model that the studio can use in the editing and production process.

The deal -- the first of its kind for Runway and one that could become a blueprint in the entertainment industry -- comes as creatives, actors and studio executives debate whether to use the new technology and how to protect their copyright material. Advocates say generative AI can enhance creators' work and help a cash-strapped industry save time and money. Michael Burns, vice chairman of Lionsgate Studio, expects the company to be able to save "millions and millions of dollars" from using the new model. The studio behind the "John Wick" franchise and "Megalopolis" plans to initially use the new AI tool for internal purposes like storyboarding -- laying out a series of graphics to show how a story unfolds -- and eventually creating backgrounds and special effects, like explosions, for the big screen.

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Lionsgate Embraces AI in Movie Production To Cut Costs

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  • by omnichad ( 1198475 ) on Wednesday September 18, 2024 @09:28AM (#64795899) Homepage

    All they want to do is rehash the same old stuff anyway. Might as well upgrade to a better blender to throw the scraps into.

    Not good for consumers, but most Hollywood stuff is barely fit in the first place.

    But even for a good movie, I think AI storyboarding might be more helpful than harmful.

    • All they want to do is rehash the same old stuff anyway. Might as well upgrade to a better blender to throw the scraps into.

      Not good for consumers, but most Hollywood stuff is barely fit in the first place.

      But even for a good movie, I think AI storyboarding might be more helpful than harmful.

      Much like cars, businesses make what people buy. If folks bought small cars, industry would make them plentifully.

      The entertainment industry puts out lots of different stories which we never hear about since they weren't popular. Thanks to easier & direct to consumer distribution via streaming, there is access to huge amounts of small and unusual content if you look for it...

    • ChatGPT, please generate a script for a Steve Martin-style movie, but with pickles...

      • And just in case you think I'm joking, here's the start of what ChatGPT wrote. Think I'm ready for the big time now!

        Title: Pickles on the Loose!

        Genre: Comedy, Adventure

        Tagline: “In a world of chaos, one jar of pickles holds the secret to happiness and a whole lot of trouble.”

        INT. A COZY SUBURBAN KITCHEN – DAY

        We see the polished floors, a spotless counter, and an organized pantry. The home belongs to LARRY DILL, an affable yet slightly neurotic middle-aged man (played by Steve Martin) who t

        • by EvilSS ( 557649 )

          We see ...

          Well that's going to trigger the shit out of some wannabe screenwriting gurus.

          • Well that's going to trigger the shit out of some wannabe screenwriting gurus.

            Good. I hope it does the same to actors and actresses when the studios all go back and AI-license John Wayne and Marylin Monroe from their money grubbin' relatives rather than pay a dime to living stars for their likeness and voice. I wanna see these bitches going door to door selling vacuum cleaners and fresh out of time to lecture me on politics. I'm absolutely not a friend to Hollywood and the crybabies need to keep crying, I'm loving it. Bottle up your tears and send them to me, screenwriters.

        • by zlives ( 2009072 )

          it looks ok but you what it could use, hmm
          what we need here is more pickle

        • well, I see that your chatgtp prompts have written something on par with a lot of 'stuff' I see coming out of hollywierd these days. That said, I think Steve Martin would ad lib a bit and make it much more palatable by his presence, therefore.
        • I don't know how this would do as a movie. But it seems like a great start to an RPG. I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.
    • by lsllll ( 830002 )

      Rick Beato has an interesting video on Autotune [youtube.com] which is worth watching. Basically it uses algorithms to correct the voice of singer so that every note they sing is perfect. Because the notes are perfect, the end result is that the song sounds somewhat robotic. They also have this for correcting the timing of the notes as well as the drum track. In doing so, they basically lose all the human elements that contribute to a song and in effect try to level the playing field between shitty singers/bands and

    • I'm guessing that for some routine processes, it's cheaper than CGI. Also, feeding the script or parts of the script into a GenAI graphics app probably costs less than human storyboard illustrators.

      & yeah, they'll probably end up with even more "routine" film franchises. It's pretty mindless to watch a film where you can pretty much predict, in broad strokes, how it's going to look & what's going to happen before you even start watching it. I don't think we're talking about losing any artistry at
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Why would the Screen Actors Guild care who (or what) draws the storyboards? These are production planning tools that don't even appear in the final film.

      • in the UK they have a phrase that they use that defines some things and I think it fits here, "... the thin end of the wedge..."
        • ... and they are right. AI is coming for their job. Not just the screenwriter but the artists, the effects guys, the editors, the photographers, the actors & actresses, and just about everyone else except the suits. I imagine making movies is soon going to require about 1/10th as much time and effort. For movie watchers this means that there will probably be a lot more indy films and small players making content. For the folks working in the industry, hopefully it means apocalypse. Fuck those people. Th
          • well, some of the actors are indeed smart enough not to act as if they have any special knowledge of politics and such... But, as you say, and I will add to, there are tons of movies made back in the day that are more than good enough and I will enjoy watching, the pablum that the studios put out these days is largely just that. I mean, I enjoyed RDJ playing Iron Man, but, when you pay an actor $50 million or more for ONE movie??? Shit, that is unreasonable. Sure, get all you can out of the (worthless) Sui
      • I'm sure the clay model makers employed by auto manufacturers were upset when they were replaced by CAD apps.

        The problem that is coming down the pipe is that computers are going to be replacing exponentially more people as these kinds of tools improve. We are not prepared to adjust to the volume of displaced workers we will be seeing.

        • I'm sure the clay model makers employed by auto manufacturers were upset when they were replaced by CAD apps.

          The problem that is coming down the pipe is that computers are going to be replacing exponentially more people as these kinds of tools improve. We are not prepared to adjust to the volume of displaced workers we will be seeing.

          We never will be. Once it happens adjustments will slowly start filtering in, just like with climate change. Humans are weird that way.

    • And noone went on strike to protect those jobs...

  • I was worried about the studios and their ability to turn a profit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • In order to enhance my productivity, I've created an AI proxy to watch Hollywood movies for me.

    • by zlives ( 2009072 )

      please replicate by 10000000 and view my you tube channel to get a theater experience.

    • by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      > I've created an AI proxy to watch Hollywood movies for me.

      Damn thing put hand soap on the popcorn instead of butter! Do I sue the bot or you or both?

  • to watch will smith eat spaghetti

  • AI is tough to turn into profit. One difficult trick is figuring out how to cut costs without also cutting the quality. Because when the background extras in your big budget movie have extra fingers and toes, the Internet is going to rake you over the coals in the the reviews.

  • I seem to recall that the two franchises mentioned in the article made returns many, many times higher than their production costs... so tell me how when you create a product costing $110 million and get over $1 billion in return, how "cash strapped" you are?
  • ...three-eyed fans to the arena! I too was once a three-eye, but lost one in a fierce but victorious battle!"

  • The article refers to Lionsgate as The studio behind the "John Wick" franchise and "Megalopolis", but that's really inaccurate.

    Megalopolis is actually an independent film financed and produced by Copolla himself, spending his own personal finances. Lionsgate made the distribution deal after the movie was completed [indiewire.com] and made the rounds on film festivals.

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