Generative AI In Films and Television

Generative AI impacts our day-to-day lives in a variety of ways. One of the major areas that this technology is influencing is the arts– but not everyone agrees on whether those impacts are good or bad. AI technology can write stories and create pieces of art that pull from existing works to create something new. And recently, controversies about its use have risen all the way to Hollywood. 

With the recent announcement of the nominees for the 2025 Academy Awards, some people pointed out how the use of AI technology influenced some of the top films. In the film ‘The Brutalist,’ which is nominated for Best Picture, the director used AI to enhance the Hungarian accents of the lead actors when they were speaking in Hungarian. Editor Dávid Jancsó said that using AI in this way doesn’t change the end product. “It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be,” Jansco said. “There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster.” 

This isn’t the first time AI has been a topic of discussion in Hollywood. Star Wars used AI technology in the film Rogue One and the TV series The Mandalorian, both to de-age characters as well as generate new performances by actors who had long-since passed away. And in the documentary Roadrunner, which tells the story of chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain, the director used AI technology to generate Bourdain’s voice reading things that he had written but never spoken. It was especially controversial because this technology was used after he passed away. 

The use of AI in film and television was a major part of recent Hollywood union negotiations. Whether you’re for it or against it, one thing is clear– this technology isn’t going away any time soon. 

Do you think the use of AI should be considered when critics are giving awards to films? Does it impact what films and television shows you want to watch? Let us know in the comments and on our social media! 

Thank you to Prime Time Palm Beach County for supporting our work.