Hollywood directors test artificial intelligence to lower production costs
Studios and independent directors are quietly deploying automated software for visual effects and previsualization across hundreds of film productions.
Across the canal from the historic palaces hosting the 83rd Venice Film Festival, a separate gathering of digital artists is showcasing software that traditional studios are adopting behind closed doors.12 At the Reply AI Film Festival, independent creators and industry veterans gathered to screen works selected from thousands of submissions, reflecting an accelerating shift in how commercial movies are assembled.1
The push to adopt automated tools is largely driven by financial strain. Production costs have climbed across the film business while streaming platforms recalibrate their spending, leading producers to look for computational methods to cut labor hours and fix technical errors. While public discussions around the technology remain fraught, working filmmakers describe an environment where automated software is routinely tested across visual development pipelines.
Mike Bennion, a British filmmaker and a finalist in the Venice competition, said a feature film currently in production approached him to evaluate automated tools when its financing ran tight.1 Producers wanted to determine whether software could replace expensive manual fixes within their existing production budget.1 Bennion declined to name the specific production or studio due to non-disclosure agreements, but he noted that many industry figures who publicly criticize automated generation actively use it during physical production.1
Commercial directors are applying the software to specific technical tasks. Catherine Hardwicke, the director who served on the jury for the Reply event, said established filmmakers have shown strong interest in applying algorithmic tools to previsualization and background generation.1 She noted that digital tools can correct small physical flaws in recorded footage, such as blending the visible seam of a character's bald cap, without requiring full reshoots or costly manual digital touch-ups.1
Studio adoption has expanded beyond isolated tests. Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos stated on a recent company earnings call that artificial intelligence had been used in roughly 300 titles across the platform this year.1 The applications range from localization adjustments to scene development and post-production clean-up.
Corporate investments in generative tools have also accelerated across major distributors. A24 entered into a $75 million arrangement with Google, and Disney completed a $1 billion agreement with OpenAI to license portions of its intellectual property for the Sora video platform.1 Established filmmakers are also forming corporate ties with research organizations. Martin Scorsese became an adviser to Black Forest Labs in June, while director Darren Aronofsky created Primordial Soup, a production studio dedicated to automated film techniques.1 Steven Soderbergh said in April that he planned to use substantial automated generation for an upcoming project on the Spanish-American War.1
At the Venice Film Festival on the Lido, the official lineup curated by artistic director Alberto Barbera included its first fully automated production, Francesco Carrozzini's project Be Brave, screened out of competition alongside conventional studio titles.2 The main festival competition featured live-action films such as Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine and Lance Oppenheim's Primetime, an A24 release starring Robert Pattinson as television journalist Chris Hansen.21
Public reception has remained skeptical despite studio interest. A recent Gallup poll showed that 55 percent of Americans believe creative work created with automated software results in worse art compared with human-only efforts.1 Filmmakers using generative tools have also faced sharp public criticism. Jacopo Reale, a creative director at Rome-based Labyrinth Studios whose team is developing a series for British subscription service Sky Cinema, reported receiving online death threats following the release of an automated short film.1 Sky Group did not respond to requests for comment regarding the production.1
Previous feature films that incorporated digital enhancement faced similar viewer backlash. Brady Corbet's 2024 historical drama drew intense criticism for using algorithmic tools to adjust the spoken accents of lead actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, as well as generating architectural illustrations in the style of the central character, László Tóth.1 Corbet subsequently released a statement defending the technical choices as practical solutions within the project's budgetary constraints.1
Filmmakers at the Venice competition maintained that while low-quality automated video saturates social media feeds, refined tools offer essential leverage for independent productions operating without major studio backing. Bennion noted that independent artists can bypass conventional production bottlenecks by using generative systems to visualize complex sequences that would otherwise exceed independent financing limits.1 For resource-constrained creators, the technology serves as a structural tool to maintain independence in an increasingly consolidated theatrical market.
Reporting note: this piece draws on reporting by Jake Angelo for Semafor published September 4, 2026, and festival programming documentation from the 83rd Venice Film Festival lineup.2
Source: Semafor via semafor.com, September 4, 2026.
References
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Jake Angelo announcement · 4 Sep 2026 Filmmakers tout AI’s use in Hollywood at the other film festival in Venice See the source
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