OpenAI’s video generation tool Sora sees Hollywood resistance amid data, labour concerns

OpenAI has spent months talking to the industry’s largest studios, including Walt Disney, Comcast’s Universal Pictures and Warner Bros Discovery, about the creative and commercial potential of Sora, according to people familiar with the discussions. OpenAI has discussed creating a tailored version of the AI tool for a studio to use on its own projects, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing confidential conversations.

Yet those talks have yet to produce any deals. Studios are reluctant to get into business with an AI company, wary of how it might use their data and of angering the labour unions with which they work every day. Concerns about the use of artificial intelligence were one of the biggest factors in two labour strikes that paralysed Hollywood in 2023. Both screenwriters and actors have continued to urge Hollywood studios to police tech companies and ensure their work isn’t being used illegally.

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Chinese AI-generated cartoon series broadcast on state television

Chinese AI-generated cartoon series broadcast on state television

OpenAI has said it may be premature to rush into commercial partnerships for the product.

“We’re so early with Sora,” Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, said at a conference in January. “I think part of getting these things right is you can’t just say, ‘Okay, we have a model, now we’re going to force a partnership.” The company is engaged with the industry, he said, adding that “their feedback is super valuable.”