Josh Taylor
The last few years have seen AI-generated content infiltrating our everyday lives, whether on social media, Google search results, or chatbots. Its next victim is already in pursuit: the film industry.
A recent AI-generated fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise swamped social media, raising concern and uproar. This 15-second clip, depicting the two in close hand-to-hand combat, was produced by Seedance 2.0, the new AI video generator for Bytedance, the Chinese technology company behind TikTok. Many took this clip as a threat to the current functioning of the film industry, with co-writer and executive producer of the Deadpool films, Rhett Reese, proclaiming, “it’s likely over for us”. The introduction of AI could completely reshape the industry as we know it, as implementing artificial intelligence in the industry threatens jobs across the board, from actors to editors to stunt coordinators. Now, future decisions are in the hands of studios, most of whom are solely focused on profit and saving money as opposed to film as an art form.
Dismissing the threat of AI in the film industry seems naive
This pessimism is far from universal, with many describing AI-generated content as ‘slop’: content that is mass-produced and low-quality due to a lack of effort. Many viewers of the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise AI-clip highlighted unconvincing details, such as over-enunciated words and hits not lining up with the reactions. For instance, one respondent, Heather Anne Campbell, writer for Rick & Morty, described the work as ‘fanfiction’ as AI is only able to create new media from existing media, crucially lacking the ability to muster original ideas itself.
all of these people who have access to the latest AI visualization engines, like Seedance — they're being given total control to create anything they can imagine — and they're turning out fanfiction. "breaking bad new scene" or "goku in live action" etc
— Heather Anne Campbell (@heathercampbell.bsky.social) 2026-02-11T21:53:39.528Z
However, dismissing the threat of AI in the film industry seems naive. Issues taken with unconvincing performances are likely to be improved upon in the very near future. The last few years have shown us just how quickly AI can visually progress to the point where we often have to question the authenticity of a clip. Whilst Campbell makes a valuable observation, this is inconsequential in a society that some would argue is experiencing a critical thinking crisis, which leaves an easily amused audience who are disinterested in the ingenuity or originality of ideas.
The Motion Picture Association insisted that ByteDance “immediately cease its infringing activity” in response to the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise clip. American labour union, Screen Actors Guild, has supported the studios’ condemnation on the grounds that Seedance “disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent”. While Disney has denounced the use of AI platforms, such as Midjourney, which they sued for copyright last year, they have simultaneously contradicted themselves by investing in such platforms. Disney chose to engage in an equity investment in OpenAI of $1bn, allowing video generation of select characters. This left animators with no share of the profit. Many voiced concerns over this deal, including Dana Terrance, creator of The Owl House, who criticised the “exploitative” nature of AI and its “soulless” creations. Not only does this reveal Disney’s profit-oriented psyche, but it also shows a complete disregard for film as an art.
Films are so much more than what is physically on our screen as we watch them
Creativity is widely understood to be the ability to generate original ideas through the use of imagination: a trait incompatible with artificial intelligence. Film is one of the endless medias we can use to express creativity. In this sense, film is a form of art. Whilst AI-generated content may be able to replace the end product in the film industry, it is missing the most crucial element of art: the process. Films are so much more than what is physically on our screen as we watch them. They are also the creative decisions made by directors, the raw performances of actors, the brainstorming of screenwriters, and more. Simply put, there is human intention behind the film that AI-generated content lacks.
The future of the film industry is uncertain. For example, Tilly Norwood, the world’s first AI actress, is an example of how artificial intelligence is already infiltrating the industry. Yet to appear in any feature films, Norwood remains relatively unknown, though she has still received criticism from stars such as Emily Blunt, who described Norwood’s existence as “really, really scary”. In other recent news, AI has also been used more subtly in films, such as The Brutalist, to enhance the Hungarian accent of lead actor Adrien Brody, among others. The 2024 film went on to win three Oscars, including the Best Actor in a Leading Role, which went to Brody. Whilst the film received backlash on these grounds, AI is far from a barrier to a film’s success in the entertainment industry, if not even enhancing its success.
Various restrictions on AI use exist among labour unions, festival guidelines, legislation, and studio policies. However, these rapid developments in AI leave the film industry with an unpredictable future. Now, the ball is in both governments’ and studios’ courts to ensure that film can be an art form protected from the low-quality, low-effort AI ‘slop’.
Josh Taylor
Featured image courtesy of Boliviainteligente via Unsplash. Image use license found here . No changes were made to the image.
In-article post courtesy of @heathercampbell.bsky.social via Bluesky. No changes were made to this post.
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