OpenAI wants to use video generation model Sora to break into Hollywood

OpenAI wants to become a player in the movie industry. The developer of ChatGPT has initiated conversations with film studios and hopes to integrate its generative model Sora into Hollywood productions.

According to Bloomberg, OpenAI started scheduling talks with Hollywood decision-makers in February, a few days after it publicly announced Sora. The generative AI model turns user prompts into lifelike clips; in other words, it’s trying to do for video what OpenAI’s DALL-E did for images.

OpenAI’s first Hollywood chats were led by Brad Lightcap, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Microsoft-backed tech firm. In recent weeks, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has jumped into the negotiations as well. Four months after his reinstatement as OpenAI’s top exec (he had briefly ceded that role to former Twitch boss Emmett Shear), Altman attended industry parties in Los Angeles during the weekend of the 2024 Academy Awards.

The first people who have gained access to Sora are “red teamers” who are looking for vulnerabilities in the software, but OpenAI is giving Hollywood notables advanced access so that they can explore the ways the generative AI technology could assist their work. According to Bloomberg

, “a few big-name actors and directors” have been invited to take Sora for a test drive.

“OpenAI has a deliberate strategy of working in collaboration with industry through a process of iterative deployment – rolling out AI advances in phases – in order to ensure safe implementation and to give people an idea of what’s on the horizon,” reads a statement from OpenAI. “We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with artists and creatives.”

The role of generative AI in motion picture arts was one of the main points of discussion during the WGA and SAG strikes that hit Hollywood last year. The rise of deepfakes and other creative issues could make AI systems like Sora tough sells in film and TV circles, but OpenAI will try to convince studios that its technology can be a benefit — not a hindrance — for the movie industry.