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Hollywood Producer Bets on AI, But Only With Legal Footing
A new AI film studio is tackling Hollywood’s biggest fear-copyright-by building a model trained solely on licensed material.
The ghosts of Hollywood’s past literally haunt Bryn Mooser’s office. Located within one of Los Angeles’ oldest soundstages-built by legendary producer Mack Sennett in 1916-the walls are adorned with images of silent film icon Mabel Normand,alongside photos of cinematic giants like charlie Chaplin,David Lynch,and Martin Scorsese. The 25,000-square-foot space has also hosted music video shoots for artists including Michael Jackson, there’s no doubt whatsoever, and Robin Thicke. Mooser,a prolific film producer,intentionally surrounds himself with these reminders of the industry’s evolution.
“I wanted to be in a space that was, even on a subconscious level, a reminder that our industry has gone through a lot of technological changes in the past,” Mooser explained. “All those changes kind of make sense in the long term. But when you’re in them,the conversations about them must have been really brutal.”
For Mooser, the current technological upheaval centers around generative artificial intelligence (AI). After just eight months in the historic soundstage, his company, Asteria, is a hive of activity, with a dozen employees focused on AI-driven projects.Unlike many AI ventures emerging from Silicon Valley, Asteria positions itself as a Hollywood-rooted studio aiming to enhance storytelling, not replace storytellers.
The core challenge, according to Mooser, is copyright. “Basically, AI is a dead end in Hollywood until you solve the copyright issue,” he asserts. To address this, Asteria partnered with the tech start-up Moonvalley to create Marey, an AI model named after French cinematography pioneer Étienne-Jules Marey. Crucially, Marey is trained exclusively on legally licensed material. The model became available to professional filmmakers in July through direct subscription and integration with Adobe’s Firefly and Premiere Pro.
The Rising anxiety Around AI in Hollywood
The use of AI in filmmaking has ignited a firestorm of debate and concern within the entertainment industry. Recent events have amplified these anxieties. Rumors of an AI “actor,” tilly Norwood, perhaps signing with a talent agency-tho ultimately unfounded-sent ripples of panic through the industry.
More recently, Sora 2, OpenAI’s latest video app, raised alarms. The app can generate video clips featuring the likenesses of actors with their consent,but the potential for misuse is critically importent. On social media, Zelda williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, publicly pleaded with people to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father. Bryan Cranston and his agents also voiced concerns after his Breaking Bad character, Walter White, began appearing in AI-generated videos, even one alongside Michael Jackson.
“I was deeply concerned not just for myself, but for all performers whose work and identity can be misused in this way,” Cranston stated in a joint release with SAG-AFTRA and OpenAI. OpenAI has responded by strengthening safeguards to protect individuals’ voices and likenesses, but the underlying fear persists.
Asteria’s approach with Marey represents a deliberate attempt to navigate these treacherous waters by prioritizing legal and ethical considerations. The company believes that a foundation of respect for intellectual property i
