Lights, Camera, Algorithm as AI Joins the Film Crew

AI technology has rapidly integrated into Hollywood film production, with studios using it for visual effects, script analysis, and post-production to reduce costs and production time. However, copyright concerns emerged after ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 created unauthorized clips featuring actors like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, prompting cease-and-desist letters from major studios and forcing a pause in the model's rollout. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA is negotiating stronger AI protections, including a proposed "Tilly tax" requiring royalty payments for AI-generated performers to make synthetic actors financially comparable to hiring real talent.