Hollywood's First AI-Driven Studios: the Future of Filmmaking

Forbes recently shed light on the new trends in Hollywood concerning AI-powered film studios, their novel approaches, and the tools they are using to produce films.

Staircase Studios AI: Reinventing Movie Production

In early March 2025, Pouya Shahbazian, the producer of the Divergent franchise, launched Staircase Studios AI, bringing Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura in as a consultant. The studio has created Forward Motion, a new filmmaking technique that would use actor facial expressions and artist sketch references before AI would take over in the animation process.

The goal? A significant reduction in production costs. Over the next four years, the studio is going to deliver 30 projects, all below $500,000. Investors include Kenneth Lerer of venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau, Aryeh Bourkoff of LionTree, and Red Sea Ventures.

The first AI-driven movie, The Woman with Red Hair, even has a trailer already. AI-generated visuals were created using references from Pixar artist Teddy Newton (The Incredibles), with voiceovers done by professional actors. The movie is about a young woman who drops out of college and joins a resistance movement in the Netherlands during World War II.

However, initial viewers did not take long before criticizing the film's uncanny valley phenomenon - the eerily unnatural aspect of AI-generated faces. Some even urged the studio to make horror films instead.

AI in Animation: Critterz by Vertigo Films

Meanwhile, the UK-based Vertigo Films embark on working on Critterz, another animated film inspired by a short from OpenAI's creative director, Chad Nelson. The film's script will be worked on by James Lamont and Jon Foster (Paddington 3).

The studio is using DALL-E for making specialized images for the film, along with Sora, an artificial intelligence animation tool by OpenAI. However, the hefty subscription fee of $200/month for Sora has raised eyebrows.

So, while most audiences have enjoyed AI animation in general, some accuse OpenAI of dishonest marketing, since Sora has dismal lip-synching and less-than-realistic body motions.

Historical Dramas and AI Cinematic Tools

Another rising AI studio, named Gennie, concerns itself with movies of historical significance. Using their Cinematic AI, they are creating long cinematic scenes, and they do keep track of character consistency throughout the film. The annual subscription to this service costs $85 (around 7,270 rubles).

AI in Commercials and Music Videos

In November of 2024, such news made the rounds when Jason Zada's Secret Level studio produced an advertisement for Coca-Cola, which was totally generated by AI. By March 2025, they had revealed a short film for a Wu-Tang Clan track that relied on the power of Google's Veo 2 AI. While Wu-Tang fans praised the music, the AI-generated video—an attempt to digitally recreate the artists—received mixed reviews.

AI and Fan Films

AI film and fan film collide when passion meets innovation. AI-driven filmmaking is no longer restricted to mainstream studios. They are also democratizing the process, as in the case of independent creators, such as Kavan Cardoza, for whom one of his AI-generated Batman shorts that famously went viral in December of 2024 has since garnered so much attention-it's really just qualified for a takedown notice by Warner Bros.

He remained undaunted, with his follow-up film, which was completed in February 2025-The Phantom Apprentice, a Star Wars fan film, accomplished within 14 days, using Google Veo 2, Midjourney, Runway, and 12 hours of real hardcore work per day. Forbes journalist Charlie Fink even remarked it was "the most impressive Star Wars fan film in years."

AI is impacting the entertainment industry-from small indie projects to large productions. It raises the question: Is it really the technological future of cinematic art? These questions externalize that one can never redefine entirely the rewriting of algorithms within the future of filmmaking.

Provided by: ASYA KARPOVA