In an ongoing effort to incorporate artificial intelligence into its production pipeline, Lionsgate Entertainment has formed a new collaboration with the AI company Runway. The partnership will see Runway use Lionsgate’s extensive library of movies and TV shows to train customized AI models for assisting filmmakers.
Lionsgate vice chair Michael Burns expressed hope that AI could help reduce costs on the studio’s modestly-budgeted films. “Several of our directors are excited about using this technology in pre-production and post-production,” he said. However, Burns stressed the AI tools would enhance rather than replace human work.
Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela said the goal is to provide film creators “new ways of bringing stories to life.” The company’s generative models can produce video content based on text or image prompts.
While specifics of the deal were not disclosed, it raises questions about compensation if AI is trained on artists’ work. The partnership also comes amid ongoing debates around AI’s creative impact. California recently passed new laws giving performers more control over digital likenesses in response to concerns from Hollywood unions like SAG-AFTRA. Union objections contributed to last year’s brief strike, partly over proposed use of AI to generate background actors.
With Hollywood increasingly investigating AI possibilities, the Lionsgate partnership may signal wider studio adoption. However, creative communities worry about job security and ownership as technology takes on more production roles. How technology and workers can cooperatively exist remains to be seen as major studios increasingly collaborate with AI firms.
