Lionsgate is officially betting on the machine. Vice Chair Michael Burns recently confirmed the studio’s landmark partnership with AI research firm Runway to train a custom generative model on its 20,000-title library. The deal aims to streamline production for franchises like John Wick and The Hunger Games, with Burns telling the Wall Street Journal that the technology will save "millions and millions of dollars" by assisting in storyboarding and creating background special effects.

The studio land-grab doesn’t stop there. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman continues pitching his text-to-video tools to giants like Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, creative leaders remain wary. Filmmaker Tyler Perry famously halted a planned $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio, citing Sora’s "mind-blowing" ability to render complex sets and effects from simple text prompts.

On the legislative front, California Governor Gavin Newsom has moved to safeguard human talent from digital replacement. At SAG-AFTRA Plaza, Newsom signed bills AB 2602 and AB 1836, which mandate informed consent for digital replicas of both living and deceased performers. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher hailed the laws as a "momentous day" for performers, ensuring that while studios chase efficiency, artists are not turned into what Drescher called "unpaid digital puppets."