Many believe that the true future of AI in Hollywood lies not in a radical change in the way we produce films and television, but rather in solving problems and creating opportunities currently inaccessible to filmmakers and studios. That was a big part of the conversation during the “AI and Filmmaking: Freeing Space for Creativity” panel at IndieWire Studio, presented by Dropbox, with Othelia co-CEO and co-founder Alexandra Hooven, Primordial Soup producer Jess Engel, and Pickford.ai creative director Bernie Su.
Su’s new project, “Whispers,” an interactive AI-driven thriller in which viewers participate in the story by helping to strategize in real-time to solve the crime and catch the killer, demonstrates how AI opens the door to new forms of storytelling that would not otherwise be possible. As Su explained during the panel, the implications for Hollywood are less about how it makes its big films and more about solving a problem the industry is currently having with its most valuable assets. He points to the resounding success of “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” which he describes as a “generational intellectual property” that Netflix will no longer be able to exploit until the recently announced sequel releases in 2029.
“It’s a problem, you’re sitting on a little gold mine and you can’t reopen it until 2029, isn’t that crazy?” said Su, who believes AI-driven interactive projects like his point to ways “where you can let fans engage or play in their little sandbox.”
Su is clear, to protect and grow the franchise requires putting the same care and time into creating a sequel, like “K-Pop”, including writing new banger songs and an engaging story, but during these four years of layoff, AI could allow a passionate audience to engage with their fandom that both protects intellectual property, but also opens doors to new possibilities.
“This is a problem that old media has and that, ironically, new media is very good at,” Su said. “The games are really good at this: ‘You want more characters, we’ll create them for you and you can play them in ‘League of Legends,’ no problem.” “You need a character in ‘Fortnite,’ we’ll have them there next week.” But for us to officially get another piece of content from “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” it might be four years before they roll out anything.
Hooven, whose company’s software helps storytellers build, edit and expand complex worlds using non-generative AI, agrees with Su, speculating that’s what’s behind Disney’s recent deal with OpenAI.
“It’s not because Disney thinks that future Disney films won’t be created by individuals,” said Hooven, who believed the deal was intended to protect the company’s valuable franchises. “We’re not going to uninvent these tools, are we? We have to figure out how to use them. What Bernie is doing is opening up new ways to interact with these characters. Making sure of that, by getting ahead of the curve [Disney can make sure] there are constraints and rules associated with the manipulation and creation that accompany these characters.
Engel, who works with Darren Aronofsky and filmmakers to explore the opportunities and tools available to build worlds that would otherwise not be impossible to work on on a smaller, independent scale, will open the doors for independent filmmakers. That’s why she thinks Sundance and the community that comes together at the festival should engage more with the topic of AI and find ways to integrate it into New Frontiers’ programming.
“Cinema is where storytelling and technology meet. And as technology becomes more and more a part of our lives and the way [storytelling] is shared,” Engel said. “It just makes sense to have some form of that here at Sundance, because it’s about building this community around it and conversations around it.”
Watch the full “AI and Filmmaking” conversation above.
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