Movies

Darren Aronofsky joins AI Hollywood push with Google deal

BBG News

Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is recognized for venturing beyond conventional storytelling with films like “Requiem for a Dream” and “Mother!”.

Currently, his film production company is collaborating with Google to delve into the frontiers of AI technology as it applies to movie-making.

On Tuesday, Google announced that they are collaborating with multiple filmmakers to incorporate innovative AI technologies, which is part of their broader strategy to make advanced technology more mainstream. This initiative involves a collaboration with Aronofsky’s company, Primordial Soup, as well.

DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google specializing in artificial intelligence, and Aronofsky’s production company are partnering with three filmmakers to utilize Veo, DeepMind’s text-to-video tool. They will use this technology to create short films, the first of which is “Ancestra,” directed by Eliza McNitt, with Aronofsky as an executive producer. The film, set to premiere at the Tribeca Festival next month, blends traditional live-action filmmaking with visuals generated by AI, showcasing cosmic events and microscopic worlds.

In his statement, Aronofsky emphasized that technology has always played a crucial role in filmmaking, tracing its roots back to pioneers like the Lumiere brothers and Thomas Edison. He further explained that this is still true today, suggesting that we should embrace these novel tools and mold them according to our vision for the future of narrative expression.

Hollywood Inc.

On Wednesday evening, I was fortunate enough to attend an exclusive screening event hosted by OpenAI, showcasing films created by talented filmmakers using their innovative text-to-video tool, Sora.

The drive originates from the fact that Google and other businesses are striking agreements with Hollywood figures and production houses, utilizing their AI technology. For instance, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is collaborating with James Cameron’s venture, Lightstorm Vision, to jointly produce content for the virtual reality headset Meta Quest. Similarly, New York-based AI firm Runway has a partnership with Lionsgate, the studio behind “The Hunger Games,” to develop a novel AI model for streamlining various backstage processes such as storyboarding.

In the realm of Hollywood, numerous individuals have expressed skepticism towards AI tools, voicing apprehensions regarding job automation. Writers, in particular, fear that AI models might be trained using their works without their explicit consent or remuneration. Meanwhile, tech industry leaders argue that they should be allowed to educate AI models with content accessible online under the “fair use” principle, a rule permitting limited reproduction of materials without the need for permission from copyright owners.

Supporters of this technology argue that it offers filmmakers a chance to experiment with different concepts and present diverse visuals at a reduced expense.

Hollywood Inc.

Many movie and television scriptwriters are alarmed to discover that their works are being utilized by technology firms for the training of AI systems, without their explicit consent. These writers are urging production houses to pursue legal remedies in response.

In a recent press statement, Primordial Soup, based out of New York, acknowledged that Google’s artificial intelligence tools played a significant role in overcoming real-world hurdles like filming with babies and depicting the emergence of the universe in their production titled “Ancestra.

Using ‘Ancestra,’ McNitt turned the previously unseen aspects of family records, feelings, and scientific data into a movie-like encounter that is at once personal and grand,” McNitt stated.

The names of the extra two filmmakers and their films involved in the Google DeepMind-Primordial Soup agreement have not been revealed as of now.

Google made the announcement as part of its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View.

At Tuesday’s main presentation for the event, Google disclosed advancements in their AI tools tailored for filmmakers, such as Veo 3. With this technology, creators can input how they envision dialogue or sound effects to be, and it will generate those elements accordingly. In addition, Google introduced a novel AI-powered video production tool called Flow, which assists users in designing visually striking shots and merging individual scenes into more extensive films or brief narratives.

In the press conference held on Monday, Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, expressed enthusiasm: “Our discoveries unveil a fresh universe of potentialities.” He went on to say that they’re thrilled about how their algorithms are driving innovative tools in the creative sphere.

You can get access to Flow through Google’s new monthly subscription plan, Google AI Ultra, priced at $249.99. This plan offers early access to Veo 3, along with additional perks such as YouTube Premium, Google’s AI models Gemini, and other tools. Alternatively, Flow can also be subscribed for $19.99 per month under the Google AI Pro subscription.

Google is also investing in other areas of artificial intelligence. On Tuesday, it was announced that Google AI Futures Fund has become a strategic investor for L.A.-based studio Promise, a company specializing in generative AI. As part of this partnership, Promise will incorporate some of Google’s advanced AI technologies into their production process and software tools, while collaborating with Google’s AI experts.

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2025-05-20 21:01

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