CULVER CITY — After Innovation Dreams CEO Jon Erwin showed a promotional video for an epic biblical series starring Ben Kingsley at an artificial intelligence conference last week, his next words raised eyebrows: «We prepared it in three weeks and shot it in a week,» he said. “We never left the studio.”.
The series "Old Stories: Moses," the first two episodes of which were released last month on Amazon Prime Video via the Wonder Project service, was filmed in March on a massive virtual set, where motion-captured backgrounds and actors were processed in near real-time using artificial intelligence. At the AI on the Lot conference, Erwin stood in front of Amazon's own stage, detailing the tech giant's support for the project and why it's crucial for Hollywood to embrace these tools now.
«"This technology would never have emerged in a theoretical vacuum," he said. "We parachute out of airplanes using these instruments.".
His comments highlight a truth that some in the entertainment industry may find alarming: the AI revolution in Hollywood isn't just real, it's taking real forms in projects people can now see. Whether it's animated shorts, experimental theater projects, or full-length films and series, AI is demonstrating that it can not only reduce costs and production times but also expand the boundaries of storytelling—even if some resistance is inevitable.
You've probably seen it in the headlines over the past few months: Netflix paid up to $600 million for Ben Affleck's AI startup, studios are quietly integrating AI tools into their workflows, and incredibly high-quality video models like Bytedance's Seedance 2.0 have emerged. Even this week, Martin Scorsese—one of the most respected filmmakers in history—embraced the use of AI tools in pre-visualization.
Martin Scorsese, who plays himself in "The Studio," is now using artificial intelligence as a filmmaking tool. (Apple TV+)
The change was evident last week at the AI on the Lot conference, a relatively new annual event that brings together tech executives and creative professionals to discuss artificial intelligence and its application in the entertainment industry. At last year's conference, studios enthusiastically embraced the idea of implementing AI. Now, for the fourth year in a row, Amazon MGM Studios is hosting the event, demonstrating how deeply AI has become entrenched in Hollywood and how companies are publicly embracing the technology.
What struck me about the conference conversations was how many of them concerned projects that were already airing or were about to air in the coming weeks. Moreover, these weren't just traditional shows; some creators were looking to harness the generative capabilities of AI to create entirely new experiences.
«"It's like riding a tsunami," Erwin said during his presentation, describing how the community has embraced the trend.
Saving time and money
The most obvious benefit of generative AI is its ability to potentially reduce the cost and time of creating projects, which Erwin demonstrated by detailing the production process for Moses.
In his presentation, he described how artificial intelligence could generate screen-ready backdrops in near real time, allowing actors to perform in front of large screens against a suitably immersive backdrop.
Jon Erwin, CEO of Innovative Dreams, and Josh DiCarlo, head of creative research at Luma AI, speak with Deadline's Dade Hayes at the AI on the Lot conference.
This is exactly how The Mandalorian is filmed in front of The Volume, with the scenes shown on the display being rendered months in advance. Thanks to generative AI, these images can be modified almost in real time, whether by changing the time of day, adding small details, or adding background characters.
It's precisely these kinds of possibilities that have many in Hollywood worried that AI could lead to job losses. Erwin's response: "To those who are worried about it taking away our jobs in Los Angeles, I say, 'What jobs?'"«
Erwin's argument is that this technology will be key to bringing filmmaking back to Hollywood and creating real jobs, as it opens the door to new projects that would never have gotten greenlit.
According to him, Moses employs 600 people in Los Angeles.
Using AI to Achieve More
Not everyone is trying to use AI to save money. Connie He, a former Pixar storyboard artist, told me about using custom video generation models from Google DeepMind to improve the visuals of her upcoming short film, "Dear Upstairs Neighbors," which premieres this month at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Instead of creating the film using hand-drawn animation, He, who joined Google after the company expressed interest in her project, said her team animated the frames entirely but used AI models to refine elements based on the style she trained the custom model to. The result was a hybrid animated film that retains its hand-drawn, casual look despite the use of AI. She noted that this process likely made the film more expensive than traditional animation. But cost wasn't the primary consideration.
«"The goal of making this film is not to make a film using artificial intelligence, but to make a very good, high-quality film," she said, adding that lessons learned in the process will be passed on to Google to help future creative workers.
A scene from the series "Dear Neighbors from Above." (Google Deepmind)
Next comes the short film "Whisper" from the AI studio Pickford, which adds an interactive element for viewers. Alongside the animated detective film in the style of "Law & Order," a livestream is shown, allowing viewers to participate via text messages. The idea is that these messages act as "whispers" to the protagonist and subtly influence the plot, with an AI generator creating new scenes every few minutes based on viewer feedback.
This element adds unpredictability—and unintentional humor—to the film. During a screening of "Whispers," viewers repeatedly texted the film "Taco Bell," leading to the climax when the main character, a detective, offers the suspect a Taco Bell subscription in exchange for a confession.
«"What do audiences want now? They want to feel like their opinions matter," said Bernie Su, Pickford's head of creative.
The film will open next week at the Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Los Angeles, with additional Alamo Drafthouse screenings to follow in the coming months.
The backlash is very real.
The conference wasn't all smooth sailing. One of the key news items at AI on the Lot was Amazon MGM Studios' announcement of three projects joining the GenAI Creators' Fund, a partnership between the studio, Amazon Web Services, and its Project Nara artificial intelligence platform.
«"Creative breakthroughs happen when visionary storytellers are given access to transformative tools," Albert Cheng, head of AI Studios at Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement on Wednesday. "The GenAI Creators' Fund and Project Nara put human creativity at the center of our efforts to integrate generative AI into Amazon MGM Studios' production processes.".
One of those who joined the initiative was veteran film director and animator Jorge R. Gutierrez, who planned to use the technology in his latest project, Punky Duck. Following the news, he faced a wave of criticism and withdrew from the initiative two days later.
«"Actions speak louder than words. My goal was to showcase the talents of artists, both emerging and experienced, working both in and out of studios, who are embracing new technologies," Gutierrez said on X the day after the announcement. "I offer my sincerest apologies to those I've upset. I promise to do better in the future. Thank you for your patience. I will do better.".
This reaction highlights how AI is still a dirty word in Hollywood and how toxic that reaction can be (someone edited his Wikipedia page to call him a "traitor").
Paul Schroeder delivers the keynote address at the AI on the Lot conference.
However, some of the most controversial views on AI will raise eyebrows. Paul Schrader, the writer and director of American Gigolo and the screenwriter of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, called for the creation of an "AI protagonist," reviving concerns raised by last year's Tilly Norwood scandal.
When asked about Schrader's comments, Erwin said he disagreed with the writer/director.
«Collaborating with an actor is a matter of principle for me,» he said.
What's next?
I was moderating a panel discussion at a conference about different perspectives on AI around the world, and there's a stark contrast between places like India and China, where AI is more readily embraced, and Hollywood.
Despite speculation that "Moses" will be Hollywood's first hybrid AI project, Stefan Vladimir Bugaj, Emmy Award-winning producer and senior vice president of content and technology at GenAI at Indian entertainment giant Jiostar, announced the release of a full season of the series "Mahabharata: One Month," which premiered in India last year, created entirely using AI. He noted that China already has a $20 billion anime industry created using generative AI.
From left: TheWrap's editor-in-chief Roger Cheng, Reimagine Studios CEO Christian Schussler, Jiostar's senior vice president of generative AI Stefan Vladimir Bugaj, Google's head of global research Mrinalini Rao, and visual effects and animation pioneer Richard Chuang. (Roger Cheng/TheWrap)
«Two entire industries have already formed, reaching two and a half billion viewers and operating outside of North America,» he said.
In other words, the development of artificial intelligence will continue regardless of Hollywood's wishes.
Asked about the reaction to Mahabharata, Bugaj acknowledged that viewers did not embrace the series the way Jiostar would have liked, but noted that the fact that it was created using artificial intelligence did not affect the Indian audience's perception.
«"Indian consumers don't really care," he said. "If it's good, they like it. If it's bad, they don't like it. But they don't care what format or medium was used to create the content.".
As with any program, the key is to create something that works.
«"Now that we're first, it's time to focus on creating something truly great," he said.
The article "Hollywood's AI Craze Accelerates – Here's What's Coming | Analysis" first appeared on TheWrap.