Meta goes to Hollywood, teams up with major production house to create ‘AI-generated movies’

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced an intriguing new collaboration with Blumhouse Productions, the Hollywood studio behind hits like The Purge and Get Out. This partnership aims to push the limits of Meta’s latest generative AI video model, called Movie Gen, which can create lifelike video and audio clips based on user prompts.

Meta unveiled Movie Gen earlier this month, presenting it as a tool capable of competing with offerings from other AI leaders, such as OpenAI and ElevenLabs. The experiment with Blumhouse signals Meta’s intention to partner with the entertainment industry despite ongoing tensions over the use of generative AI technologies.

Blumhouse has enlisted several notable filmmakers to explore Movie Gen’s potential. Aneesh Chaganty, known for his work on Searching, will release a film showcasing Meta’s AI technology on the Movie Gen website. Meanwhile, upcoming projects from actor and filmmaker Casey Affleck, along with The Spurlock Sisters, are also in the pipeline.

Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum emphasised the importance of involving filmmakers early in the development of tools like Movie Gen. He noted that technology should support rather than replace artistic storytelling and welcomed the chance for directors to experiment with the AI, providing feedback on both its strengths and limitations.

This partnership arrives at a time when the creative industry has shown growing resistance to generative AI, raising concerns over copyright and consent. Several copyright owners have filed lawsuits against tech companies, including Meta, accusing them of improperly using protected works to train AI models. Meta, however, maintains that its AI training practices are protected under fair use laws.

Despite the legal challenges, Meta and other tech giants are actively engaging with the creative sector. Last month, Meta announced deals with actors such as Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, and John Cena, enabling their voices to be used for its Meta AI chatbot. This suggests a willingness to pay for certain types of content to avoid legal and ethical pitfalls.

Meta is not the only tech company exploring the intersection of AI and entertainment. Microsoft-backed OpenAI has been in discussions with Hollywood executives about potential partnerships involving its video generation tool, Sora. Although no deals have yet been finalised, Lionsgate recently struck an agreement with Runway, another AI startup, indicating the industry’s increasing openness to AI-generated content.

Meta’s collaboration with Blumhouse shows how AI-generated video could become a powerful tool for filmmakers, even as the entertainment industry grapples with the implications of such technology. As Movie Gen continues to evolve, the partnership may serve as a blueprint for balancing creativity, technology, and copyright concerns.