OpenAI said it is courting Hollywood in meetings with movie studios, directors

OpenAI wants to break into the movie business.

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

The upcoming meetings are just the latest round of action by OpenAI in recent weeks, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is private. In late February, OpenAI scheduled keynotes in Hollywood led by COO Brad Lightcap. Along with several of its colleagues, Lightcap demonstrated the capabilities of Sora, an unreleased new service that can generate realistic-looking videos up to about a minute long based on text prompts from users. Days later, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attended parties in Los Angeles during the Academy Awards weekend.

The creator of ChatGPT introduced Sora in mid-February with a series of high-definition clips that immediately caught the attention of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Sora is not yet available to the public, but OpenAI has already granted access to several famous actors and directors.

“OpenAI has a focused strategy of working in collaboration with industry through a process of iterative deployment – ​​deploying AI advances in phases – to ensure safe deployment and give people an idea of ​​what’s on the horizon,” said a spokesperson for OpenAI in a statement. “We look forward to continued dialogue with artists and creators.”

AI is divisive in Hollywood. Many filmmakers and studios already rely on AI in pre- and post-production and recognize the promise of a new crop of artificial intelligence tools. But the rise of generative AI services — which can quickly churn out text, images, audio and, increasingly, short videos in response to user requests — has also raised concerns about upending the livelihoods of everyone from illustrators to voice actors.

Writers and actors went on strike last year in part to fight for protections in their use of the technology. Both alliances later provided some safeguards for how AI is used in the entertainment industry. Media companies are also wary of allowing OpenAI to train its models on their work without compensating them. Outlets including CNN, Fox Corp. and Time Magazine, have had discussions about licensing their work to OpenAI, Bloomberg reported.

OpenAI is wooing Hollywood as it tries to catch up to the competition. Tech giants Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. have already presented 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.

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

OpenAI’s Sora is still in the preview stage, the company said, and no price has been set.

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