AI Vs. Hollywood Battle Heats Up: OpenAI Financing AI-Made Animated Film – Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Leading generative AI company OpenAI is ready to prove to Hollywood that it can cut costs and time by using artificial intelligence to make movies.

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What Happened: Use cases for artificial intelligence continue to rise and the technology could be used to transform the movie industry, something that could put actors and movie makers at odds with AI technology.

To help illustrate the use case for generative AI in the movie-making experience, OpenAI is backing animated film “Critterz” from a creative specialist at the company, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Chad Nelson has been working on the characters for the film for three years, using tools from OpenAI such as the DALL-E image-generation tool. Nelson teamed up with production companies Vertigo Films and Native Foreign.

Vertigo Films co-founder James Richardson said the companies are attempting to make the animated film in nine months instead of the typical three years for a similar film.

“It’s a very ambitious massive experiment,” Richardson said.

The goal is to have “Critterz” debut at the Cannes Film Festival, set for May 12 through May 23 next year. “Critterz” was originally created as a short-form film, making its debut in 2023 with funding from OpenAI.

With a budget of under $30 million, the film is also trying to demonstrate how generative AI tools can help make movies more cost-friendly for studios and independent filmmakers. The report said OpenAI is backing the film by providing tools and resources. No financial terms were disclosed.

Nelson and the producers plan on casting actors to voice the film’s characters and to hire artists to help provide the sketches used by OpenAI’s tools.

“OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it’s much more impactful if someone does it,” Nelson said. “That’s a much better case study than me building a demo.”

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Why It’s Important: News of the OpenAI-backed film comes as movie studios and streaming companies wrestle with how much AI they want to use, fearing backlash from people in the Hollywood industry and consumers.

In June, the Walt Disney Co DIS and Comcast Corporation CMCSA-owned Universal brand sued Midjourney, an AI image-generating company, for copyright infringement. Warner Bros. Discovery WBD has since filed a similar suit against the AI company.

Netflix Inc NFLX is using video tools from Runway AI to accelerate production on at least one film. Disney was also said to be testing technology from Runway AI.

Hollywood strikes from the SAG-AFTRA previously included complaints about studios turning to AI to replace human actors in voice roles and for eliminating positions in the filmmaking process.

If “Critterz” is successful, it could upend the movie industry as it would demonstrate the ability to shorten the filmmaking process and lower costs by using AI tools. The big question is whether it will eliminate jobs along the way.

Nelson argues that OpenAI’s lower costs could lead to the hiring of more people to work on films, but that will remain to be seen.

OpenAI told the Wall Street Journal that the “Critterz” movie “reflects the kind of creativity and exploration we love to encourage.”

The film could be a test for movie companies, movie theaters and the AI sector going forward.

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