Hollywood stops debating AI and starts shooting with it
Hollywood has stopped arguing about whether to use artificial intelligence and started building stages for it.
The clearest example sits at Stage 21 of Manhattan Beach Studios in Southern California, according to Variety. The space holds Innovative Dreams, an AI offshoot of director Jon Erwin's company Wonder Project, where AI artists work on a soundstage lined with LED screens to fold generative AI into live-action production. Generative AI is software that makes images, video and sound from written prompts. Bryan Yee is chief operating officer.
The address is familiar. Manhattan Beach Studios holds the volume screens, giant LED walls that project digital backgrounds around actors, where Jon Favreau filmed the Mandalorian franchise. It also houses Lightstorm Entertainment, where James Cameron developed the Na'vi films.
Money is driving the shift. Producer Ryan Kavanaugh says his firm Acme Studios cut the cost of Doug Liman's film Bitcoin from $200 million to $70 million by using AI. Below-the-line costs, the crew, sets, transport and other physical production spending, fell from $130 million to $35 million.
Language is changing too. Kathleen Kennedy, who served as president of Lucasfilm from 2012 to 2026, helped organise a group of industry figures to create a framework for how Hollywood should talk about AI. Tribeca premiered the AI-generated docudrama Dreams of Violets.
Innovative Dreams has deeper roots. Wonder Project, described as Amazon-affiliated, launched the venture with AI firm Luma in April, according to Deadline. Erwin, who directed Young Washington and serves as chief executive, founded the company as a filmmaker-led production services business. It calls its method "real-time hybrid filmmaking," a mix of shooting with actors and cameras alongside AI tools used during the shoot and in post-production.
Other names are moving in. Martin Scorsese joined generative-AI firm Black Forest Labs as an adviser, Variety reported in June. Google, Runway and ByteDance each released a new AI model in 2026 aimed at creators seeking work, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In India, filmmakers have produced a $360 AI feature film.
Schools have followed. Caleb Ward and Shelby Ward run Curious Refuge, an AI filmmaking school. Most corners of Hollywood production, from writers' rooms to visual effects departments, have embraced generative AI tools.
That is a turn from three years ago. In November 2023, actors and major studios had still not resolved concerns about artificial intelligence in contract talks. Disney had created a task force to explore AI and cut costs, at a point when many writers and actors viewed the technology as a threat to jobs.
What makes this stand out is the ordinariness. AI is listed in budgets, floor plans and job titles. For viewers, this means the change may arrive without a label, inside adventure films, documentaries and low-budget experiments alike.
