Lionsgate CEO Says AI Deal Promises “Transformational Impact” on Studio

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer offered details on a recent deal with video-focused artificial intelligence research firm Runway to train a new generative AI model on Lionsgate content library.

"The entertainment business is a creative enterprise, but its future growth will require a combination of art and science," Feltheimer told financial analysts in prepared remarks on Thursday in the wake of a recent agreement with Runway aiming to allow the entertainment company to use the AI tech as it produces future film and TV projects.

"We believe that AI, harnessed within the appropriate guardrails, can be a valuable tool to serve our talent. And we believe that over the long term, it will have a positive transformational impact on our business," the Lionsgate chief added.

Feltheimer stressed Runway will create and train a model for the use of Lionsgate and the filmmakers that "we designate," indicating discipline around project development and production.

His studio's deal is the first partnership between Runway and a major Hollywood media giant, though across the industry execs are looking at the potential for the technology closely, given the speed with which generative AI tech can create images and video based on text or image prompts.

When first unveiling the Runway deal in Sept. 2024, Lionsgate execs stressed the AI tech will ultimately reduce costs, something that every studio is interested in, but especially Lionsgate as it has long touted itself as a cost-conscious studio even more than its bigger Hollywood rivals.

Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns on an analyst call echoed the optimism around AI content development: "We think this is very much going to enhance filmmaking and become an incredible tool for the community."

Of course, AI tools have also become a flashpoint for Hollywood, with unions worried about the impact on jobs, actors and musicians worried about misuse of their likenesses, and studios worried about the legal ramifications.

Recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that regulates AI performance replicas, and a documentary producers group released guidelines on how generative AI can and should be used in the genre.

Studios are more openly experimenting with AI tools, even as there remains legal uncertainty, and concerns from labor.

Runway, for its part, frames itself as helping the creative community execute on their vision.