A viral AI-generated video of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting atop a building is causing a stir online.
The 15-second video comes from the latest AI video-generation platform, Seedance 2.0. The platform was launched last week by its owner, ByteDance, the same Chinese parent that oversees TikTok.
As the video circulates online, the Motion Picture Association and other industry stakeholders have called out the video for its unauthorized use of copyrighted works.
MPA's CEO, Charles Rivkin, wrote in a statement that the company "should immediately cease its infringing activity."
"In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale," wrote Rivkin.
"By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs."
The video was posted on X by Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson. His post said the 15-second video came from a two-line prompt he put into Seedance 2.0.
Rhett Reese, writer/producer of movies like the Deadpool trilogy and Zombieland, responded to Robinson's post, writing, "I hate to say it. It's likely over for us."
He goes on to say that soon people will be able to sit at a computer and create a movie "indistinguishable from what Hollywood now releases." Reese says he's fearful of losing his job as increasingly powerful AI tools advance into creative fields.
"I was blown away by the Pitt v Cruise video because it is so professional. That's exactly why I'm scared," wrote Rhett on X. "My glass half empty view is that Hollywood is about to be revolutionized/decimated."
Rhett isn't alone in thinking AI could potentially "decimate" Hollywood and take away jobs. Creating protections against AI was one of the main reasons both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers' Guild went on strike in 2023. But some members argue that those measures – now nearly three years old – did not go far enough.
As SAG-AFTRA reentered contract negotiations with the studios earlier last week, AI is still one of the union's highest priorities.
It's expected that the actors' union could propose what has been called the Tilly tax, a fee that studios would have to pay to the union in exchange for using an AI-generated actor – a response to the introduction of Hollywood's first AI actor, Tilly Norwood.
SAG-AFTRA could not be reached for a comment, as the organisation is participating in a media blackout during contract negotiations. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
