Divergent Producer Deploys AI to Make $500,000 Union Feature Films

Bridging Hollywood + AI Innovation: Divergent Producer Pouya Shahbazian on the Studio of the Future — Ai4

Ai4

Hollywood's broken economics can only counter YouTube's audience dominance by pairing human curation with generative AI pipelines to produce sub-$500,000 feature films.

AI-assisted summary of Bridging Hollywood + AI Innovation: Divergent Producer Pouya Shahbazian on the Studio of the Future — original source. Check the original for full context.

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Detailed notes

## Background Published by the Ai4 channel on YouTube on August 27, 2025, this session features NBC News editor Jason Abbruzzese in conversation with veteran Hollywood producer Pouya Shahbazian. According to the description, the talk explores Shahbazian's venture, Staircase Studios, which is building a hybrid movie studio combining major studio craftsmanship with AI production pipelines to reinvent legacy entertainment models.

## TL;DR Veteran Hollywood producer Pouya Shahbazian argues that legacy entertainment is facing an existential crisis from soaring budgets and massive competition from platforms like YouTube. In response, his startup Staircase Studios is pioneering an AI-native hybrid pipeline to produce full-length narrative features for under $500,000 while maintaining full union compliance and six-month turnaround times. Shahbazian details his 20-60-20 filmmaking framework, emphasizing that while generative AI handles intensive generation, human curation, vetted high-concept scripts, and elite editorial craft remain indispensable to cinema's future.

## Atmosphere & style The dialogue carries a pragmatic, insider tone that blends blunt industry diagnosis with forward-looking technological optimism. Shahbazian speaks with seasoned authority, shifting effortlessly from gritty mailroom anecdotes to hard economic realities and deep respect for traditional artistry. The exchange feels grounded and candid rather than hype-driven, exploring the cultural friction around generative AI while passionately defending the enduring magic of the communal theatrical experience.

## Key takeaways - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=4s) Pouya Shahbazian founded Staircase Studios to bridge veteran Hollywood storytelling with generative AI production after producing hits like the Divergent franchise. - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=4s) Staircase Studios' debut feature, 'The Woman with Red Hair', employs seasoned union talent like animator Alfred Gimeno and Pixar artist Teddy Newton alongside proprietary AI pipelines. - [02:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=130s) The 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes served as a catalyst for Shahbazian to explore generative AI as a solution to Hollywood's broken financial model. - [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) Hollywood faces an existential crisis as YouTube surpasses Netflix in living room watch-time and dwarfs studio content volume by 3,000 times. - [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) Staircase Studios occupies a hybrid middle lane by creating sub-$500K narrative features with full union compliance using top studio-developed scripts that stalled in development. - [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) Many Hollywood creators express private interest in AI experimentation but fear public backlash and industry retaliation. - [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) Backed by seed investors like Kenny Lerer, Staircase Studios operates an 11-person team utilizing a proprietary multimodal LLM platform that takes features from script to finish in six months. - [11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) Shahbazian's 20-60-20 framework emphasizes human curation for the first 20%, generative AI production for the middle 60%, and expert cinematic polish for the final 20%. - [11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) High-concept ideas that can be pitched in a single sentence remain the crucial foundation of successful commercial storytelling. - [14:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=879s) Staircase Studios aims to produce 30 feature films over the next four years while running two simultaneous productions in year one. - [14:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=879s) Despite rapid technological shifts, communal theatrical cinema and auteur-driven original hits will continue to endure as essential cultural touchstones.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=4s) Introduction and Showcase of Staircase Studios AI

The session opens with a promotional showcase introducing Staircase Studios, an entertainment company focused on developing original intellectual property across film, television, and video games. Rather than replacing human artistry with algorithms, the studio frames its mission as a talent-driven hybrid model combining seasoned Hollywood creatives with cutting-edge artificial intelligence practitioners. The reel highlights the studio's range of applications—from automated casting and audition workflows to visual style experimentation—while collaborating with veteran industry figures such as Emmy Award-winning animator Alfred Gimeno (*Tiny Toon Adventures*, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Disney) and former Pixar Oscar-nominated artist Teddy Newton.

Staircase Studios emphasizes a proprietary production pipeline that directly incorporates union creative talent at standard industry rates. The reel concludes by previewing the studio's debut feature film, *The Woman with Red Hair*, directed by Brett Stewart and written by Michael Schatz. Following the clip, Jason Abbruzzese of NBC News observes that while the emerging AI entertainment space is overwhelmingly populated by pure-tech founders, Pouya Shahbazian represents a rare bridge: an accomplished Hollywood studio producer transitioning into AI-native production.

---

[02:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=130s) From the Mailroom to Divergent: A 20-Year Hollywood Trajectory

Shahbazian recounts his twenty-year journey through traditional Hollywood, tracing his start back to the classic entry-level grind. After moving to Los Angeles with the ambition of breaking into the movie business, he followed the advice of David Rensin’s book *The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up*, spending nearly a year relentlessly pursuing an agency mailroom role. Refusing to give up, he worked his way up through desk work and phone duty into producing, eventually establishing a long-term niche in New York focused on book-to-film intellectual property adaptations.

For fifteen years, Shahbazian actively tracked literary agencies and authors to acquire publishing manuscripts before they hit the open market, hunting for the next *The Da Vinci Code* or *Twilight*. Over his career, he placed nearly 200 projects in studio development and saw 12 produced, including the multi-hundred-million-dollar *Divergent* franchise, which repeatedly opened at number one at the box office.

The turning point came during the historic seven-month SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2023. With the entire industry benched, Shahbazian recognized that the legacy studio infrastructure was fundamentally broken and unlikely to return to its previous operating model. He spent the shutdown intensely studying emerging generative tools, becoming convinced that AI represented the necessary antidote for Hollywood's unsustainable economics.

---

[04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) Hollywood’s Crisis: Streaming, YouTube, and the 500k Budget Lane

Analyzing the macroeconomic state of the entertainment business, Shahbazian delivers a blunt diagnosis: "Hollywood's getting its ass kicked." While legacy studios previously allowed Netflix to dominate streaming distribution, Netflix itself is now facing fierce competition from YouTube, which has become the single most-watched streaming application on living room television screens. The sheer scale of user-generated content (UGC) dwarfs traditional output: while Hollywood produces approximately 15,000 hours of content annually, YouTube creators publish roughly 3,000 times that volume. Even if the vast majority is casual media (with Abbruzzese joking about his own home cooking videos), top-tier digital-native creators like MrBeast capture massive, captive global audiences.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Entertainment Content Landscape subgraph Traditional["Legacy Studio System"] A["Traditional Studios<br/>~15,000 hrs/yr<br/>Avg. $65M / Movie"] end subgraph Staircase["Staircase Studios Hybrid Lane"] B["Union Writers, Directors & Actors<br/>Sub-$500K Budgets<br/>Vetted Hollywood Scripts"] end subgraph UGC["User Generated Platforms"] C["YouTube / UGC Creators<br/>~45M+ hrs/yr<br/>Low-Cost / High-Volume"] end Traditional -.->|"Market Squeeze"| Staircase UGC -.->|"Audience Attention Draw"| Staircase ```

To survive this squeeze, Shahbazian established Staircase Studios around a distinct middle lane positioned between inexpensive UGC and standard $65 million studio productions:

- **Sub-$500,000 Feature Budgets:** Producing full-length, professional narrative features at a fraction of standard Hollywood costs. - **Full Union Compliance:** Employing SAG-AFTRA, WGA, and DGA union talent paid strictly at standard union rates. - **Rescuing "Fallen-Through-the-Cracks" IP:** Actively acquiring and producing high-quality, studio-vetted screenplays that stalled in Hollywood's protracted development pipelines. Shahbazian notes that among the dozens of scripts he developed over two decades, the four best screenplays he ever championed never got greenlit under the legacy studio model.

---

[07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) Navigating Industry Backlash and Building a Hybrid Studio Team

When introducing AI production pipelines to the broader entertainment community, Shahbazian encountered deeply polarized reactions. Many prominent creators and showrunners express enthusiastic private interest in experimenting with the technology, yet ask, "Can I not put my name on it?" due to fear of industry retaliation. This cultural tension was underscored when prominent authors signed open letters demanding that major publishers ban all generative AI usage. Despite the friction, Shahbazian maintains that entertainment must urgently reorient around technological disruption rather than resisting it.

Staircase Studios balances this divide by functioning simultaneously as a Hollywood-native and AI-native entity. The core leadership reflects deep institutional heritage; for instance, the studio's head of development previously ran Brad Falchuk's Netflix-based production company (*Glee*, *American Horror Story*). Backed by venture capital alongside seed investor Kenny Lerer (co-founder of *The Huffington Post*), the company employs a specialized, agile team of 11 creators and engineers.

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: Staircase Studios Proprietary Pipeline subgraph Core["Proprietary Engine"] E1["Multimodal LLM Base"] --> E2["Custom Production Platform"] end subgraph Production["Production Flow"] E2 --> P1["Image-to-Video Pipelines"] P1 --> P2["Human Artist Craft & Direction"] P2 --> P3["6-Month Turnaround Feature"] end ```

- **Proprietary Internal Platform:** The engineering team built an internal operating layer leveraging multimodal LLMs to coordinate creative workflows, keeping the system private despite outside licensing inquiries. - **Rapid Production Cycle:** The streamlined AI-assisted workflow allows the studio to take a feature film from script to completion within six months. - **High-End Artist Collaboration:** Daily visual pipelines rely heavily on image-to-video transformations driven by master illustrators, including Alfred Gimeno's daily character and environment generation.

---

[11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) The 20-60-20 AI Filmmaking Model and Curating High Concepts

Shahbazian outlines the creative philosophy of Staircase Studios through a segmented "20-80" framework. In his model, the first 20% of the filmmaking process belongs entirely to human curation and high-concept development. Drawing on his years evaluating manuscripts—such as discovering and producing Greg Berlanti's *Love, Simon*, the first gay teen romantic comedy released by a major studio—Shahbazian stresses that AI cannot replace the editorial instinct required to select resonant stories.

He defines "high concept" via the classic Hollywood formula popularized by Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg: an idea so immediate and compelling it can be pitched in a single sentence. Examples include *Wedding Crashers* ("two guys crash weddings to meet single women") or the indie thriller *Open Water*, which can be encapsulated in nine words: *"Two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left."*

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: 20-60-20 Filmmaking Framework subgraph Curation["First 20%: Human Curation"] C1["High-Concept Ideation"] C2["Vetted IP Selection"] end subgraph Generation["Middle 60%: Generative Engine"] G1["Multimodal AI Video"] G2["Rapid Asset Generation"] end subgraph Polish["Final 20%: The Secret Sauce"] P1["Professional Editorial"] P2["Cinematic Post-Production"] end Curation --> Generation --> Polish ```

While the middle 60% of the pipeline relies on generative AI engines to shoulder the labor-intensive production load, the final 20% is what Shahbazian calls the "secret sauce." This stage demands experienced cinematic craft, direction, and editorial polish. He warns that AI tools in isolation do not equal filmmaking: "It just can't be two guys in a basement, you know, chopping together videos that they've created on AI in Adobe Premiere Pro."

---

[14:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=879s) Future Ambitions: Producing 30 Films and the Fate of Theatrical Blockbusters

Looking ahead, Staircase Studios has set an aggressive target to produce 30 feature films over the next four years. In its foundational first year, the studio is intentionally deliberate, with its 11-person team running two simultaneous feature film productions while actively packaging a broader development slate.

When asked whether ultra-low-cost, algorithmic niche targeting will erode shared cultural movie moments, Shahbazian strongly defends the enduring power of communal cinema. He argues that audiences maintain a primal appetite for gathering together around major cultural touchstones. He points to breakout modern horror/thriller directors like Zach Cregger (who followed *Barbarian* with *Weapons*) as proof that mid-budget, original auteur concepts can still galvanize audiences and score consecutive box office hits alongside Marvel and Disney visual spectacles. While distribution platforms and toolsets will continue to transform rapidly, Shahbazian concludes that the theatrical event movie remains an irreplaceable pillar of human storytelling.

## Notable quotes > Staircase Studios AI is now in its second year of a bold experiment: building the ideal hybrid movie studio—one that blends the craftsmanship and scale of major Hollywood filmmaking with the most advanced AI production techniques. — Pouya Shahbazian

> After spending two decades inside traditional studios and networks—producing multiple #1 box office films, earning award nominations, and generating over $800 million in global box office revenue—I’m now applying that experience to a future-facing studio model. — Pouya Shahbazian

> A truly Hollywood-native and AI-native studio designed for the next era of content creation. — Pouya Shahbazian

> [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) Hollywood's getting its ass kicked. — Pouya Shahbazian

> [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) Can I not put my name on it? — Pouya Shahbazian

> [11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) two guys crash weddings to meet single women — Pouya Shahbazian

> [11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) Two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left. — Pouya Shahbazian

> [11:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=715s) It just can't be two guys in a basement, you know, chopping together videos that they've created on AI in Adobe Premiere Pro. — Pouya Shahbazian

## Mentioned Pouya Shahbazian, Jason Abbruzzese, Staircase Studios, NBC News, Alfred Gimeno, Teddy Newton, Brett Stewart, Michael Schatz, David Rensin, MrBeast, Brad Falchuk, Kenny Lerer, Greg Berlanti, Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Zach Cregger, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Disney, Pixar, SAG-AFTRA, WGA, DGA, Netflix, YouTube, The Huffington Post, Adobe, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Woman with Red Hair, The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up, The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, Divergent, Glee, American Horror Story, Love, Simon, Wedding Crashers, Open Water, Barbarian, Weapons

## Video description Jason Abbruzzese, Assistant Managing Editor, NBC News Pouya Shahbazian, CEO & Founder, Staircase Studios

Abstracts

Staircase Studios AI is now in its second year of a bold experiment: building the ideal hybrid movie studio—one that blends the craftsmanship and scale of major Hollywood filmmaking with the most advanced AI production techniques.

After spending two decades inside traditional studios and networks—producing multiple #1 box office films, earning award nominations, and generating over $800 million in global box office revenue—I’m now applying that experience to a future-facing studio model.

With a lean team of artists and engineers, we’re developing feature films in collaboration with some of Hollywood’s most visionary storytellers. The goal? A truly Hollywood-native and AI-native studio designed for the next era of content creation.

In this conversation, I’ll unpack what it means to reinvent the studio model from the inside out—exploring the creative possibilities and structural challenges of AI filmmaking, navigating an industry rooted in a century of legacy systems, and imagining what’s ahead for storytellers and technologists across media and entertainment.

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos)

中文简报

《分歧者》制片人利用AI制作50万美元工会故事长片 好莱坞受挫的经济模式唯有将人工把关与生成式AI管线相结合、制作成本低于50万美元的长片电影，方能抗衡YouTube对受众的统治地位。 好莱坞资深制片人Pouya Shahbazian认为，飙升的预算以及来自YouTube等平台的激烈竞争，正让传统娱乐业面临生存危机。为此，他的初创公司Staircase Studios正在开创一种AI原生混合管线，在完全符合工会规范且制作周期控制在六个月的前提下，以低于50万美元的成本制作叙事长片。Shahbazian详细阐述了他的“20-60-20”电影制作框架，并强调尽管生成式AI负责密集的生成工作，但人工把关、经过检验的高概念剧本以及顶尖的剪辑工艺对于电影的未来依然不可或缺。 《分歧者》（Divergent）制片人 Pouya Shahbazian 创立了 Staircase Studios，将好莱坞资深创作者与专有生成式 AI 管线相结合，首部故事长片《The Woman with Red Hair》全面以行业标准薪酬聘请工会人才参与制作。 (0:04) 面对 YouTube 在客厅观看时长超越 Netflix 且内容体量达传统好莱坞 3000 倍的行业冲击，Staircase Studios 打造了低于 50 万美元预算且符合工会规范的生产模式，专注于拯救传统片厂搁置的高质量剧本。 (4:10) 在 Kenny Lerer 等投资人支持下，Staircase Studios 依托由 11 人团队运作的专有多模态大模型平台，将故事长片从剧本到成片的制作周期压缩至 6 个月。 (7:06) Shahbazian 提出了“20-60-20”制作体系：前 20% 依赖人工对高概念故事的筛选策展，中间 60% 依托生成式 AI 承担制作负荷，最后 20% 则依赖资深电影人的视听打磨与剪辑把控。 (11:55) Staircase Studios 计划在未来 4 年内制作 30 部长片，同时 Shahbazian 坚信带来群体共鸣的院线大片文化依然具有不可替代的生命力。 (14:39)

Reading summary

Hollywood producer Pouya Shahbazian argues that legacy studio economics are broken under pressure from streaming and user-generated video, prompting him to launch Staircase Studios as a hybrid, AI-assisted production model. Legacy Hollywood Squeezed by YouTube and High Costs (4:10) Shahbazian asserts that traditional studios face an unsustainable economic crisis, characterized as 'getting its ass kicked' by changing viewing habits. While Hollywood produces approximately 15,000 hours of content each year, YouTube creators generate roughly 3,000 times that volume, making YouTube the most-watched streaming platform on living room television screens. Top digital creators like MrBeast command massive audiences at a fraction of legacy production budgets. Following the seven-month SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2023, Shahbazian concluded that the traditional studio model, with average film budgets around $65 million, would not recover its prior dominance. The Sub-$500K Hybrid Production Lane (4:10) To bridge the gap between low-cost user-generated media and expensive studio tentpoles, Staircase Studios targets a middle tier focused on sub-$500,000 feature film budgets. Despite the steep cost reduction, the studio operates within union standards, paying SAG-AFTRA, WGA, and DGA members standard union rates. The company also aims to rescue high-quality, studio-vetted screenplays that stalled in legacy development pipelines. Shahbazian notes that among the roughly 200 projects he developed over 20 years, the four best scripts he championed were never greenlit by traditional studios. Industry Backlash and the Hybrid Operating Model (7:06) Integrating generative tools into Hollywood faces significant cultural resistance. Shahbazian reports that while many established creators and showrunners privately want to experiment with AI, they frequently ask to keep their names off projects out of fear of industry retaliation. This pushback is mirrored by open letters from prominent authors demanding bans on generative AI in publishing. Staircase Studios balances this landscape by pairing veteran entertainment executives with engineers. Backed by venture capital and seed investor Kenny Lerer, the 11-person team includes leadership from Brad Falchuk's production company alongside veteran animators like Emmy winner Alfred Gimeno and Pixar alumnus Teddy Newton. The studio utilizes a proprietary multimodal internal engine to execute an image-to-video workflow, aiming to take full-length features from script to delivery within six months. The 20-60-20 Filmmaking Framework (11:55) Shahbazian organizes AI-native filmmaking into a segmented '20-60-20' operational philosophy. The opening 20% relies strictly on human curation and identifying single-sentence 'high-concept' premises, drawing on his background packaging adaptations like Love, Simon and Divergent. While generative engines handle the labor-intensive middle 60% of asset and video generation, the final 20% requires seasoned editorial polish and cinematic direction. Shahbazian cautions that software alone cannot replace craftsmanship, arguing that effective filmmaking cannot simply be creators assembling generated clips in standard editing suites. Staircase Studios plans to produce 30 feature films over four years, starting with two concurrent productions in its first year. Even as low-cost niche productions multiply, Shahbazian contends that theatrical event movies and original auteur-driven mid-budget films will endure as shared cultural experiences.

精炼阅读摘要

好莱坞资深制片人Pouya Shahbazian指出，传统影视工业正面临制作成本过高以及YouTube等海量数字内容的严峻挑战；他创立的Staircase Studios试图建立一种融合好莱坞工会人才与生成式AI的混合制片体系，以低于50万美元的预算和六个月的制作周期开辟叙事长片新路径。 好莱坞结构性困境与受众注意力转移 (4:10) Shahbazian认为2023年长达七个月的演员工会（SAG-AFTRA）与编剧工会（WGA）大罢工暴露了传统制片厂体系的根本性危机，旧有的运作模式已难以为继。他分析指出，传统好莱坞目前年产内容约1.5万小时，单部院线电影平均成本达6500万美元；相比之下，YouTube创作者发布的内容体量约是好莱坞的3000倍，且已成为客厅电视屏幕上播放时长最高的流媒体平台。以MrBeast为代表的数字原生创作者正在大规模虹吸全球观众的注意力，加剧了传统影视工业的生存压力。 50万美元预算赛道与工会合规模式 (0:04) 为了在低成本用户生成内容（UGC）与动辄数千万美元的制片厂大作之间寻求生存空间，Shahbazian将Staircase Studios定位在独特的“中端通道”。该工作室计划将长片制作成本控制在50万美元以内，在六个月内完成从剧本到成片的完整周期。该模式坚持全面遵守行业工会标准，雇佣SAG-AFTRA、WGA和DGA工会成员，并严格按工会标准费率支付报酬。此外，工作室重点收购好莱坞传统开发流程中积压但经过专业验证的优质剧本，例如其首部剧情长片《红发女子》（The Woman with Red Hair）。Shahbazian透露，其20年职业生涯中经手的四部最优秀剧本此前均因制片厂机制僵化而未能开机。 “20-60-20”制片框架与专有技术管线 (11:55) Shahbazian提出了“20-60-20”的AI电影制作哲学：前20%完全归属于人类的审美把关与高概念（High-Concept）创意策划。基于他过往发掘《分歧者》和《爱你，西蒙》等知名项目的经验，他强调机器无法替代人类对共鸣故事的直觉筛选，必须坚持能够用一句话清晰呈现的核心创意。中间60%则依赖专有的多模态大语言模型与“图生视频”（Image-to-Video）生成式引擎，由艾美奖得主Alfred Gimeno等资深动画艺术家主导视觉生成，以承担繁重的素材制作工作。最后的20%被其称为“秘方”，必须依靠资深导演、剪辑师等专业人员完成精细的后期打磨，以确保影片具备真正的院线质感，防止沦为纯AI画面的业余拼接。 行业舆论阻力、团队架构与四年规划 (7:06) 在引入AI制片流程的过程中，Shahbazian遭遇了业界明显的两极分化态度：许多知名主创和剧集主管私下对技术实验表现出浓厚兴趣，但出于对行业抵制和舆论指责的担忧，纷纷要求匿名参与。Staircase Studios目前依靠11名工程师与创意人员构成的紧凑团队运作，其开发主管曾长期负责Brad Falchuk在Netflix的制片业务，公司同时获得了The Huffington Post联合创始人Kenny Lerer及风险投资机构的支持。工作室设定了在未来四年内制作30部长篇电影的目标，首年将稳步并行推进两部电影的制作。 院线大片与集体观影体验的持久生命力 (14:39) 针对超低成本AI定制内容是否会瓦解大众共享观影体验的疑问，Shahbazian坚信人类对影院社交与集体共鸣具有原始且长期的需求。他以连续推出《野蛮人》（Barbarian）和《武器》（Weapons）的新锐导演Zach Cregger为例，证明除了漫威和迪士尼的视效奇观之外，中等预算、具有原创作者表达的惊悚和剧情作品依然能够在院线引发轰动效应。他认为发行渠道和制作工具虽在剧烈重塑，但院线大事件电影作为人类文化纽带的地位不会改变。 Shahbazian展示了一条融合传统工会人才与低成本AI管线的折衷商业路径，试图破解好莱坞日益严峻的成本与注意力危机；然而，这种混合制作模式能否在市场上取得预期的商业回报，以及好莱坞主流生态能否克服对生成式AI的伦理与声誉担忧，仍有待实际作品的市场验证。

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 该视频由 YouTube 频道 Ai4 于 2025 年 8 月 27 日发布。根据页面简介，本次对话由 NBC News 助理执行主编 Jason Abbruzzese 主持，专访 Staircase Studios 创始人兼 CEO、全球票房破 8 亿美元的资深好莱坞制片人 Pouya Shahbazian，深入探讨如何打造一家融合好莱坞传统工业品质与前沿 AI 技术的未来混合型电影工作室。 ## TL;DR 曾打造《分歧者》等大片的资深制片人 Pouya Shahbazian 回顾了在经历 2023 年好莱坞大罢工后创立 Staircase Studios 的缘起与愿景。面对 YouTube UGC 产能对传统影视工业的巨大冲击，工作室开辟了一条单部预算低于 50 万美元、制作周期仅需 6 个月的全新电影制作路径，并严格遵守行业工会标准。Pouya 提出了“20/80/100 电影制作法则”，主张结合前期的顶级“高概念”策划、中期的多模态 AI 规模化生成与后期的好莱坞专业视听品控，目标在未来 4 年内制作 30 部长片，重塑下一代影视内容生产模式。 ## Atmosphere & style 对话节奏干练且观点犀利，充斥着传统电影工业老兵直面行业困境的坦诚与魄力。Pouya 从底层收发室奋斗史聊到前沿 AI 转型，语言务实、洞见深刻，既有对好莱坞体制弊端的敏锐批判，又流露出对经典叙事和院线集体观影体验的深厚敬畏。整场对谈在严谨的工业逻辑与激进的技术创新之间达成了极佳平衡，展现出一种笃定而富有远见的开拓者气场。 ## Key takeaways - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=4s) Staircase Studios 探索“混合型制片厂”模式，将好莱坞资深艺术家与 AI 生产工具深度融合，并严格遵守行业工会标准雇佣编剧与演员。 - [01:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=101s) 曾操盘《分歧者》等票房大作的资深制片人 Pouya Shahbazian 认为，2023 年行业大罢工暴露了传统好莱坞模式的不可持续性，促使其转向 AI 技术重构影视工业流程。 - [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) 传统好莱坞年产量仅约 1.5 万小时，在内容体量和家庭客厅屏幕时长上面临产能高达其 3000 倍的 YouTube UGC 平台的全面围剿。 - [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) Staircase Studios 开辟了介于低门槛 UGC 与传统 6500 万美元大制作之间的全新赛道，将单部故事长片预算降至 50 万美元以内、制作周期压缩至 6 个月。 - [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) 好莱坞业内对 AI 存在公开抵触与私下寻求合作的两极化态度，工作室通过组建兼具传统制片经验与前沿 AI 技术的 11 人跨界团队来打破僵局。 - [08:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=536s) 工作室不参与基础底层模型的军备竞赛，而是由系统工程师搭建基于多模态大模型与 Image-to-Video 的内部专属软件管线，结合顶级艺术家的前期概念设计实现高效产出。 - [11:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=686s) 影视创作需遵循“20/80/100 法则”：前 20% 依赖人工对“高概念”故事的筛选策划，中间 60% 由 AI 规模化视觉生成，后 20% 依靠好莱坞专业剪辑与视听调校进行品控。 - [11:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=686s) 电影的核心依然在于精炼有力的“高概念（High Concept）”叙事，仅凭个人使用 AI 工具零散拼接素材无法产出真正的院线级艺术作品。 - [14:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=873s) Staircase Studios 制定了 4 年内制作 30 部长片的规划，利用 AI 低成本优势重新激活好莱坞历史上被搁置的顶级剧本库。 - [14:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=873s) 尽管 AI 会极大催生针对细分受众的微型内容，但院线集体观影的“大事件体验”以及优质故事所带来的情感共鸣依然具有不可替代的长久生命力。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=4s) 混合型工作室的愿景与首部作品亮相 在对谈开场播放的宣传片中，Staircase Studios 展现了其作为一家立足于电影、电视和游戏领域的新兴工作室定位。工作室的核心理念在于以“人才为驱动”来运用 AI 工具，将好莱坞资深从业者的高水准专业能力与经验丰富的 AI 创作者深度融合。从选角试镜到探索各种格式与视觉风格，AI 技术的融入旨在无缝衬托艺术家的创造力，而非替代人类艺术表达。 宣传片中展示了多位顶尖好莱坞创作者的参与，包括曾斩获艾美奖、参与过漫威和尼克儿童频道项目的艺术家阿尔弗雷德·希梅诺（Alfred Gimeno），以及前皮克斯资深创作者、奥斯卡提名者泰迪·牛顿（Teddy Newton）。工作室强调，其专有工作流程严格遵循行业工会标准，以行业标准薪资雇佣工会编剧、导演和演员。现场还公布了由布雷特·斯图尔特（Brett Stewart）执导、迈克尔·沙茨（Michael Shatz）编剧的工作室首部剧情长片《红发女子》（*The Woman with Red Hair*）的开场片段。 - **核心合作人才**：艾美奖得主阿尔弗雷德·希梅诺（Alfred Gimeno，代表作涵盖漫威、《喧闹一家亲》等）、奥斯卡提名动画人泰迪·牛顿（Teddy Newton，曾任职皮克斯）。 - **工会承诺**：全流程采用演员工会、编剧工会等行业工会成员，并支付标准行业报酬。 - **首部作品**：长篇剧情电影《红发女子》（*The Woman with Red Hair*）。 --- ### [01:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=101s) 从收发室到好莱坞顶尖制片人：Pouya 的行业历程与 AI 转向 主持人杰森·阿布鲁泽斯（Jason Abbruzzese，NBC News 助理执行主编）指出，当前许多涉足 AI 影视与娱乐的内容制作者大多来自纯科技背景，而 Pouya Shahbazian 则是少数拥有深厚好莱坞战绩的传统资深从业者。Pouya 回顾了自己在好莱坞长达 20 年的职业生涯：他从好莱坞最底层的“收发室轨迹”（mail room trajectory）起步。当时大家建议他阅读大卫·伦辛（David Rensin）的名著《收发室》（*The Mailroom*），他花了将近一年时间才在收发室争取到一个接电话的底层职位，但他当时下定决心，哪怕花上五年也绝不放弃。 随后，Pouya 在纽约深耕“图书影视化改编”长达 15 年，奔走于各大文学经纪人和作家之间，力求在第一时间抢下有望成为下一部《达芬奇密码》或《暮光之城》的手稿。在传统制片厂体系内，他累计锁定了近 200 个改编项目，并成功将其中 12 部作品搬上银幕，其中包括全球斩获数亿美元票房、屡次夺得北美票房冠军的现象级大片《分歧者》（*Divergent*）。然而，2023 年好莱坞爆发了长达 7 个月的编剧与演员工会历史性大罢工，全行业陷入停摆。在那段漫长的沉寂期，Pouya 敏锐地意识到影视工业的结构已经发生永久性断裂，传统的生产模式再也无法维系，“传统好莱坞已经回不去了”，他由此开始全力投入学习 AI 技术，试图将其作为拯救行业积弊的良方。 --- ### [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) 传统影视业的危机：流媒体与 YouTube UGC 的夹击 在审视当下电影工业时，Pouya 毫不留情地直言：“好莱坞正在被痛扁（Hollywood's getting its ass kicked）。”尽管传统电影公司早先为 Netflix 的崛起大开绿灯，最终让其统治了传统影视流媒体市场，但如今 Netflix 本身也正遭受 YouTube 的全面围剿。目前，不仅在移动端，甚至在家庭客厅电视屏幕上，观看时长第一名的应用程序正是 YouTube。 在内容体量上，传统好莱坞整个工业体系每年仅能生产约 1.5 万小时的影视内容，而 YouTube 上用户生成内容（UGC）的产能是好莱坞的整整 3000 倍。虽然其中绝大部分内容质量粗糙，但其中突围的头部创作者（如 MrBeast）已然成长为超级巨头。为了应对 UGC 内容的降维打击，Staircase Studios 确立了自己的立足点：开辟一条介于“YouTube UGC 内容”与“传统制片厂平均 6500 万美元大制作”之间的全新赛道。 ```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: 影视制作赛道与预算对比 accDescription: 展示传统好莱坞、Staircase Studios 与 YouTube UGC 在预算和定位上的对比关系。 subgraph UGC["大众 UGC 赛道"] U1["YouTube / 社媒创作者"] U2["成本极低 / 产能超 4500 万小时/年"] end subgraph Hybrid["Staircase Studios 混合赛道"] H1["好莱坞工会创作者 + 原生 AI 流程"] H2["单部电影预算 ≤ 50 万美元"] H3["制作周期仅需 6 个月"] end subgraph Legacy["传统好莱坞制片厂"] L1["院线大片 / 传统流媒体"] L2["平均制作成本 6500 万美元以上"] L3["立项流程繁冗 / 产能仅 1.5 万小时/年"] end UGC -->|"质量与叙事鸿沟"| Hybrid Legacy -->|"成本高企与效率低下"| Hybrid ``` - **制作成本重构**：传统工业电影单部均价约 6500 万美元，而 Staircase Studios 将单部故事长片的预算压降至 50 万美元以下。 - **好莱坞被遗忘的剧本宝库**：由于传统好莱坞立项如同“赶猫（herding cats）”般艰难，Pouya 过去开发的顶级剧本中最好的 4 部从未获得开拍机会。工作室正通过 AI 将这些业内高度认可却遗留在抽屉中的绝佳剧本重新拍成电影。 --- ### [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) 行业内部的顾虑与 AI 原生团队的构建 谈及好莱坞业内对 AI 的真实态度，Pouya 坦言舆论与情绪呈现两极分化。私下里，许多知名剧集主管（showrunner）会主动联系他表达强烈的合作意向，却会小心翼翼地附上一句：“我能不署名吗？”知名畅销书作者群体甚至曾向五大传统出版集团联名致信，严正要求在任何出版环节都不得使用 AI。面对这种顾虑与抵触，Pouya 坚信整个娱乐产业终将彻底围绕 AI 进行范式重构。 为了兼顾技术革新与工业级叙事水准，Staircase Studios 构建了一支 11 人的精干团队，Pouya 将他们称作“独角兽”。团队不仅具备前沿的 AI 操盘能力，更拥有纯正的好莱坞血统。例如工作室的开发总监此前曾在 Netflix 掌管著名制片人布拉德·法尔查克（Brad Falchuk，《欢乐合唱团》主创之一）的制作公司，对传统剧本开发与内容制作有着深刻理解。 --- ### [08:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=536s) 技术管线与顶级艺术家的融合 在具体技术应用层面，AI 视频生成领域正以令人目眩的速度演进，涵盖了从 Higgsfield、Runway 到谷歌 Veo 和 OpenAI Sora 等最新模型。Staircase Studios 并未将精力耗费在基础模型的“军备竞赛”中，而是由专门的系统工程师开发了一套基于多模态大语言模型（Multimodal LLMs）的内部专有软件平台。这套闭环系统能够将整部故事长片的制作周期压缩到 6 个月以内。 在图像到视频（Image-to-Video）的管线中，核心在于专业艺术资产的前期构筑。艾美奖得主阿尔弗雷德·希梅诺作为常驻核心艺术家，每日持续为项目提供高质量的美术设计与概念资产，让顶尖工业艺术与算法生成实现无缝对接。此外，赫芬顿邮报（The Huffington Post）联合创始人肯尼·勒勒（Kenny Lerer）作为联合创始人深度加盟，并引入了顶级风险投资机构的全力支持。 - **制作周期**：从剧本到成片在 6 个月内完成。 - **技术路线**：专注于 Image-to-Video 与内部多模态大模型开发管线，不对外开放，专供内部长片生产。 - **投资背景**：由媒体巨头兼投资人肯尼·勒勒（Kenny Lerer）联合创立，并获得一线风投机构支持。 --- ### [11:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=686s) 20/80/100 电影制作法则与“高概念”策划 针对市场上充斥的大量廉价 AI 生成视频，Pouya 提出了独到的“20/80/100 电影制作法则”，指出仅靠两三个人在地下室用 AI 生成素材并在 Adobe Premiere Pro 里胡乱剪辑，绝不可能做出真正的电影艺术。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: 20-80-100 影视创作模型 accDescription: 展示从 0-20% 的人工高概念策划，到 20-80% 的 AI 生成，再到 80-100% 的专业后期与品控流程。 subgraph Stage1["0% ~ 20%：人工筛选与高概念策划"] A1["审阅海量手稿与剧本"] A2["提炼核心'高概念'（一句话直击人心）"] A3["例：《颤栗汪洋》9个词概念 / 《爱你，西蒙》"] end subgraph Stage2["20% ~ 80%：AI 驱动的工业化生成"] B1["基于内部多模态管线批量生成资产"] B2["Image-to-Video 镜头转换与场景构建"] B3["低成本实现规模化视觉表达"] end subgraph Stage3["80% ~ 100%：好莱坞顶级品控（秘密武器）"] C1["资深剪辑与调色把控"] C2["音效设计、配乐与专业表演合成"] C3["达到院线/主流流媒体专业发行水准"] end Stage1 --> Stage2 Stage2 --> Stage3 ``` - **0% 至 20%（人工精选与“高概念”确立）**：艺术首先在于对好想法的策划。Pouya 借鉴了昔日杰弗瑞·卡森伯格（Jeffrey Katzenberg）与迈克尔·艾斯纳（Michael Eisner）在派拉蒙和迪士尼时期确立的“高概念（High Concept）”原则——用最精炼、最具冲击力的一句话捕捉整个故事。例如他当年主导制片的《爱你，西蒙》（*Love, Simon*，好莱坞首部大厂出品的同性浪漫喜剧）；恐怖片经典《美版午夜凶铃》（*The Ring*）；经典喜剧《婚礼傲客》（*Wedding Crashers*，两个男人专门潜入婚礼搭讪单身女性）；以及仅用 9 个单词就能讲清楚的《颤栗汪洋》（*Open Water*）：“两名潜水员，鲨鱼出没的海域，他们的船刚刚开走了（two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left）”。 - **20% 至 80%（AI 深度介入与规模化生产）**：利用多模态 AI 与 Image-to-Video 技术，将原本因成本过高无法拍摄的剧本高效视觉化，实现极高的生产性价比。 - **80% 至 100%（专业工艺与“秘密武器”）**：AI 生成的视频素材必须由好莱坞资深专家进行视听语言调校、精准剪辑、调色和声音设计，确保成片达到主流影视作品的视听质感。 --- ### [14:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=873s) 院线体验的未来与四年 30 部电影的宏伟目标 展望未来的业务规划，Staircase Studios 制定了明确的发展路线：计划在未来 4 年内制作 30 部完整电影。目前 11 人的核心团队正在同时推进两部电影项目，保持稳扎稳打的节奏。 在谈到未来观众观影习惯与院线大片的生存空间时，Pouya 坚信，即使内容生产成本被大幅降低、针对细分受众的微型定制内容大量涌现，院线大片与集体观影体验依然不会消亡。人们天生具有汇聚在影院共同观看“大事件电影”的情感本能，无论是迪士尼和漫威十多年来打造的超级视效奇观，还是像扎克·克雷格（Zach Cregger，《野蛮人》《武器》导演）这样凭借精准预算和精湛叙事连续引爆票房的新一代创作者，都证明了实体院线与优质故事所具有的长久生命力。 ## Notable quotes > [01:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=101s) 传统好莱坞已经回不去了 — Pouya Shahbazian > [04:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=250s) 好莱坞正在被痛扁（Hollywood's getting its ass kicked） — Pouya Shahbazian > [07:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=426s) 我能不署名吗？ — 匿名剧集主管 > [11:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos&t=686s) 两名潜水员，鲨鱼出没的海域，他们的船刚刚开走了（two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left） — Pouya Shahbazian ## Mentioned Staircase Studios, Pouya Shahbazian, Jason Abbruzzese, NBC News, Alfred Gimeno, Teddy Newton, Brett Stewart, Michael Shatz, 《红发女子》（The Woman with Red Hair）, 《分歧者》（Divergent）, David Rensin, 《收发室》（The Mailroom）, Netflix, YouTube, MrBeast, Brad Falchuk, Higgsfield, Runway, Google Veo, OpenAI Sora, Kenny Lerer, The Huffington Post, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Eisner, 《爱你，西蒙》（Love, Simon）, 《美版午夜凶铃》（The Ring）, 《婚礼傲客》（Wedding Crashers）, 《颤栗汪洋》（Open Water）, Zach Cregger, 《野蛮人》（Barbarian）, 《武器》（Weapons）, 迪士尼（Disney）, 漫威（Marvel） ## Video description Jason Abbruzzese, Assistant Managing Editor, NBC News Pouya Shahbazian, CEO & Founder, Staircase Studios Abstracts Staircase Studios AI is now in its second year of a bold experiment: building the ideal hybrid movie studio—one that blends the craftsmanship and scale of major Hollywood filmmaking with the most advanced AI production techniques. After spending two decades inside traditional studios and networks—producing multiple #1 box office films, earning award nominations, and generating over $800 million in global box office revenue—I’m now applying that experience to a future-facing studio model. With a lean team of artists and engineers, we’re developing feature films in collaboration with some of Hollywood’s most visionary storytellers. The goal? A truly Hollywood-native and AI-native studio designed for the next era of content creation. In this conversation, I’ll unpack what it means to reinvent the studio model from the inside out—exploring the creative possibilities and structural challenges of AI filmmaking, navigating an industry rooted in a century of legacy systems, and imagining what’s ahead for storytellers and technologists across media and entertainment. [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGAUkX1Vos)

Source quotes

[1:41] Pouya Shahbazian: 传统好莱坞已经回不去了 [4:10] Pouya Shahbazian: 好莱坞正在被痛扁（Hollywood's getting its ass kicked） [7:06] 匿名剧集主管: 我能不署名吗？ [11:26] Pouya Shahbazian: 两名潜水员，鲨鱼出没的海域，他们的船刚刚开走了（two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left）

Source quotes

Pouya Shahbazian: Staircase Studios AI is now in its second year of a bold experiment: building the ideal hybrid movie studio—one that blends the craftsmanship and scale of major Hollywood filmmaking with the most advanced AI production techniques. Pouya Shahbazian: After spending two decades inside traditional studios and networks—producing multiple #1 box office films, earning award nominations, and generating over $800 million in global box office revenue—I’m now applying that experience to a future-facing studio model. Pouya Shahbazian: A truly Hollywood-native and AI-native studio designed for the next era of content creation. [4:10] Pouya Shahbazian: Hollywood's getting its ass kicked. [7:06] Pouya Shahbazian: Can I not put my name on it? [11:55] Pouya Shahbazian: two guys crash weddings to meet single women [11:55] Pouya Shahbazian: Two divers, shark-infested waters, their boat just left. [11:55] Pouya Shahbazian: It just can't be two guys in a basement, you know, chopping together videos that they've created on AI in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Original transcript

[0:04] Thank you guys. Uh, let's ceue up the [0:05] video, please. [0:11] Staircase Studios is a film, television, [0:13] and gaming studio aimed firmly at [0:15] telling new original stories. We are [0:18] bringing a talent-driven approach to the [0:20] use of AI tools by combining the work of [0:23] highlevel Hollywood professionals with [0:25] experienced AI artists. Hoot meets his [0:28] mistress every Wednesday at 2:00. He is [0:31] never late and it's the only time he's [0:33] without. [0:33] >> From using it for auditions, [0:35] >> we should never disagree on is what is [0:37] right and what is wrong. But one thing [0:40] we should never disagree on is what is [0:42] right [0:42] >> to experimenting with different formats [0:45] and styles. [0:46] >> I'm Johannes, president, and the Gemma [0:49] Society is looking for women like you. [0:51] AI has seamlessly complemented the [0:54] artistry of the incredible talent behind [0:56] our studios debut feature. [1:01] >> Hello. [1:02] >> We work with Emmy award winner Alfred [1:04] Jimeno of Marvel [1:07] and formerly a Pixar Oscar nominee Teddy [1:10] Newton. [1:12] >> Most people find it's easier to ignore [1:15] their problems. Well, that makes them [1:17] complicit. Our proprietary workflow [1:21] embraces union talent at industry rates [1:24] to make original content for global [1:26] audiences. [1:28] Now from director Brett Stewart and [1:30] screenwriter Michael Shatz, Staircase [1:32] Studios AI proudly presents the opening [1:35] of our debut feature, The Woman with Red [1:38] Hair. [1:41] Wonderful. I think that's a great [1:42] introduction to to what you guys are up [1:44] to. But uh one of the things I'm excited [1:46] about talking to you about today is I've [1:48] gotten to meet with actually uh quite a [1:50] few people who are working in the world [1:52] of AI generated or AI altered or AI [1:56] involved media and entertainment. [1:58] They're all tech. Uh you have a story [2:01] career uh in entertainment and I just [2:03] want to make sure everybody knows where [2:04] you're coming from. So if we could walk [2:06] through like you your career uh in in [2:09] the movies. [2:10] >> Absolutely. So I am a 20-year veteran of [2:12] Hollywood. I started I did the mail room [2:14] trajectory. I moved to LA. Everyone said [2:17] read a book called Mailroom by David [2:19] Renson and get a job in the mail room. [2:21] It took me almost a year to get that [2:23] job. And honestly, I wouldn't have quit [2:25] if it had taken me five years because I [2:27] I just was desperate to be a part of [2:29] this business. And my thought I thought [2:31] my path was the traditional you work you [2:34] answer phones, you work through the mail [2:36] room, you you work your way up and then [2:38] you produce movies, which is what I did. [2:39] But I ended up um in New York uh [2:42] specializing in booktofilm adaptations. [2:45] So for 15 years what I did was chase [2:50] book authors and literary agents around [2:53] trying to get my hands on the [2:55] manuscripts that would become the next [2:58] Da Vinci Code, the next Twilight. If I [3:01] could in New York, if I could get those [3:03] books first, then I would have pole [3:05] position to produce those movies and uh [3:08] get them made within the studio system. [3:11] So, we had a lot of success. I found 200 [3:14] projects almost that we put together [3:16] within the studio system. I think my [3:18] track record was solid. We got 12 of [3:20] those projects made, including [3:22] Divergent, which is my calling card, and [3:24] that's the multiple movies that opened [3:26] at number one. Uh, and we're really [3:28] proud of the track record we had. What [3:30] happened was in 2023 the industry went [3:33] on full strike. 7 months we were all on [3:36] the bench. Um the actors went on strike [3:39] and the writers went on strike [3:40] rightfully so. There was there were a [3:41] lot of problems within the system. [3:44] During that moment I realized things had [3:47] changed and they were never going back. [3:49] So that's when I really began to think I [3:52] need to study. I need to learn. I need [3:53] to learn more about you know what are [3:55] ways that we can get projects and movies [3:58] made. Um, and in the last year, I've [4:00] dedicated myself to studying, learning, [4:03] and figuring out how AI could be the [4:06] antidote for what ails the industry. And [4:09] >> and I think, you know, we will get to [4:11] the technology, which is very exciting [4:12] and and interesting, but I I think one [4:14] of the things it's crucial to understand [4:16] is where is the movie industry right [4:18] now? Um, after the pandemic, we haven't [4:21] seen people coming back to the theaters [4:22] quite as much. Um there's a lot of talk [4:24] about whether it's just all about big [4:27] big movies and there's no kind of like [4:29] middle good middle movies. You know, I [4:30] hear a lot of those kind of complaints. [4:32] What is your view of where the movie [4:34] industry is right now? Hollywood's [4:36] getting its ass kicked. Netflix has [4:40] dominated the traditional industry which [4:43] was a door left open by the studios and [4:47] actually they helped build the behemoth [4:49] that is Netflix. But even Netflix now is [4:52] under genuine assault from YouTube. [4:55] YouTube has taken over. The number one [4:57] most watched app on your television, not [5:00] just on mobile, but on your TV at home [5:03] is YouTube. YouTube's taken over [5:05] everything. The traditional industry [5:07] makes 15,000 hours of content a year. [5:11] The YouTube users, UGC, user generated [5:15] content, is 3,000 times as much. Now, [5:19] most of that is not really viewable, but [5:23] it doesn't take much. [5:24] >> You're talking about my cooking videos. [5:26] I I [5:27] >> Jason, we got to work on that. Let's [5:29] talk afterwards. Uh mo most of it is may [5:33] not be viewable, but the there is enough [5:36] that breaks through and so the giants of [5:39] the industry now, the Mr. Beasts of the [5:41] world, they are a YouTube native really. [5:45] Um so for my thesis was when starting [5:47] this company was okay we need to combat [5:50] as an industry we need to combat that [5:54] userenerated content and so I we're [5:57] building something that is a a different [5:59] lane that lane is somewhere between [6:01] userenerated content and the studios [6:03] traditional content where the average [6:05] movies the numbers are 65 million for an [6:08] average movie can we live in between [6:11] what the users generate for YouTube and [6:13] that 65 million. So our our budget [6:16] points are 500,000 and below, but we are [6:19] still using union writers, union [6:21] directors, union actors. We're paying [6:23] everyone union wages, but we are [6:25] generating content. We're generating [6:27] fulllength feature films that would have [6:30] been made within the industry that are [6:31] screenplays that have fallen through the [6:33] cracks of Hollywood that are vetted and [6:35] believed in by the industry, but have [6:38] fallen through because there are it's [6:40] it's like hurting cats to make a movie [6:42] in Hollywood. So the the idea that we [6:45] can take those movies now take great [6:47] scripts and I had dozens of great the [6:50] four best scripts that I ever developed [6:52] none of them got made out of the 12 [6:54] movies and TV shows that I made. So [6:56] we're taking those scripts and we're [6:57] making them using AI with the full buyin [7:00] of um the creators who are within the [7:03] unions and within the industry. Now, uh, [7:06] one of the things that I love about this [7:08] topic is that, uh, it's controversial. [7:10] As a, as a media member, that's that's [7:12] it's always nice when there's some heat [7:13] around it. When you first started [7:15] bringing this to people in the industry, [7:18] what was the reaction? [7:21] >> The reaction is very mixed. Um, there [7:23] are still people that I talk to, [7:25] showrunners, who will say, [7:28] "I'd love to learn more. I'd love to [7:30] work with you. Can I not put my name on [7:32] it?" [7:33] there there is still a fear from people [7:36] who have a huge uh platform and a huge [7:40] footprint within the industry of getting [7:42] involved with AI at this moment. Um so [7:45] there is actually a I used to work with [7:47] a number of book authors and they put [7:48] out a state they put out a letter um to [7:52] their the five major publishers who [7:53] published them and said please don't use [7:56] AI in any respect. Um, which look I I [8:00] think I I wish them luck in what they're [8:04] trying to achieve. Um, but I for me I I [8:07] believe that the industry, the entire [8:11] industry needs to reorient itself around [8:13] AI. That's why I'm here. That's why we [8:15] are full-time AI and our company is AI [8:19] native but also Hollywood native because [8:21] I personally am am Hollywood native. my [8:25] development executive uh who works for [8:27] our company. She used to run Brad [8:28] Felchuk's company at Netflix who's one [8:31] of the creators of Glee and number of TV [8:33] shows. Um, so we we are very Hollywood [8:36] native, but our entire team and we have [8:38] a team of 11 who I I think of us as [8:41] unicorns because the people I've hired [8:43] are just incredible talent um that are [8:47] able to use AI in a way where it still [8:51] corresponds with what we need for a [8:54] professionally produced uh film. [8:56] >> Okay. Well, I've put off talking about [8:57] the technology for long enough at an AI [8:59] conference, so let's get into it. Like [9:01] what is the state of it? Where has it [9:02] been coming? And where is it going? [9:05] >> So we are getting very very close to [9:08] just the the highest level and look if [9:11] you were here for the last presentation [9:12] Higsfield is doing incredible work um [9:15] between runway and Higsfield and what [9:18] you see with Veo and Sora uh the tech [9:21] moves so quickly that just keeping up [9:23] with it and we have we have an engineer [9:25] who his entire job is to work within our [9:29] system. We have a software platinum [9:30] internal to our company that we don't [9:32] share externally um that is built upon [9:36] uh the multimodal LLMs and we work with [9:39] a number of different uh multimodals. So [9:42] um we we've built our own internal [9:45] system in order to get our team to be [9:47] able to flow and make movies within 6 [9:50] months. Um and that that's been [9:54] requested by a number of folks who want [9:56] to use it and want to work with us. Uh, [9:58] at this point we've kept it internal. [10:01] >> And And how much of an arms race is it [10:03] to try to make sure that you have the [10:05] best tech or that your tech is at least, [10:08] you know, on par with other companies? [10:10] Um, even the ones that like Agro, which [10:12] you know is now very much going all in [10:14] on uh video generation. [10:16] >> Yeah, look, I I I think that those [10:18] companies are going to duke it out for [10:20] years and years to come. um the level of [10:24] investment in uh video generation, text [10:27] to video, image to video which are you [10:30] know we we are definitely in the sphere [10:33] of image to video as we create a lot of [10:35] art internally. We have um Alfred Jimeno [10:39] who's in the video um Alfred works with [10:42] us uh continuously and he's just [10:44] brilliant. Um I I'm very excited. We're [10:47] actually working on a project and he [10:48] delivered art yesterday and I was like [10:50] this is genius. So, we're really excited [10:52] to to have that level of talent where a [10:55] guy who won Emmy awards in the [10:56] traditional industry, worked on Tiny [10:58] Tunes, worked on big Nickelodeon and [11:01] Marvel and Disney productions. To have [11:04] someone like that day-to-day working [11:06] with our team, um it's just a real [11:08] privilege and it's a privilege to have [11:10] been backed by incredible backers. Um my [11:13] partner in the business is Kenny Lair, [11:15] who started Huffington Post, um who [11:17] believed in this from day one. Uh and [11:19] then we have incredible venture backers [11:20] behind us who who've basically told us [11:23] look let's let's go figure this out. [11:26] >> You talked earlier about the sheer [11:28] amount of video that is being generated [11:30] um and and certainly from uh you know [11:32] again the public image video generators [11:35] that we can all use uh lower level [11:37] platforms in which there's a B2C element [11:39] but as I as a consumer can pay and [11:41] generate slightly higher quality um all [11:43] the way up. How do you guys think about [11:46] making sure that your content is [11:47] specialized enough and unique enough in [11:49] a world in which it feels like AI video [11:51] could could, you know, just be [11:53] everywhere all of a sudden? [11:55] >> Yeah, I I think of AI really as a it's a [11:58] 2080 solution, right? I think art [12:00] ultimately needs to be curated. Ideas [12:03] need to be curated. So my my specialty [12:07] was taking a stack of books, taking [12:10] manuscripts, articles and figuring out [12:14] what is that high concept. What's that [12:16] concept that is really going to dig in [12:18] and and have an have an audience uh with [12:22] broad appeal, right? So something like [12:24] Love, Simon was a movie that I made uh [12:26] with Greg Brillante. Incredibly proud of [12:28] the movie. It was a book that I read uh [12:31] early on and immediately it struck me as [12:34] this could be something very very [12:36] special and it ended up being the first [12:40] um gay romcom made by a studio and it [12:43] was just an incredible uh experience to [12:46] be able to bring that to global [12:48] audiences. So I take the same approach [12:51] now when I'm looking at material and we [12:54] bring up this this movie all the time. [12:56] We think about where what could be our [12:58] the ring, right? A horror movie like The [13:01] Ring or there's this movie that came out [13:03] 20 years ago uh called Open Water. And I [13:06] always tell people about it in Open [13:07] Water, you could describe this this [13:09] movie in nine words. You could say two [13:11] divers, sharkinfested waters, their boat [13:14] just left. Immediately, you know what [13:17] the movie is. So when we curate, we're [13:20] curating ideas. We're curating big [13:22] ideas. high concept which is high [13:24] concept is a term that we use in [13:26] Hollywood that uh was brought about by [13:28] Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner [13:30] when they ran Paramount and Disney. Um [13:32] and and the idea is a unique and [13:34] compelling idea um that can be conveyed [13:36] briefly like you know wedding crashers [13:38] two guys uh crash weddings crash [13:42] weddings to meet single women right big [13:44] idea immediately you you get what it is [13:47] um so that's that's where we think about [13:49] that first 20% we need to really curate [13:52] good ideas we need to find those those [13:55] movies and those TV shows that are going [13:56] to resonate with audiences then we think [13:58] about the 20 to 80 we we are really [14:01] kneede deep in AI and AI can be our [14:03] savior in terms of of being able to tell [14:06] more stories and get more buy more [14:08] scripts that we can actually make. And [14:10] then that 80 to 100 is the secret sauce. [14:13] Um you once the AI once you're working [14:16] with AI and you have the the video, you [14:19] really have to have a level of expertise [14:21] on what you're going to do with that [14:22] video. So, it just can't be two guys in [14:25] a basement, you know, chopping together [14:28] videos that they've created on AI in [14:31] Adobe Premiere Pro. [14:33] >> Yeah. And so, in 5 10 years, how many [14:36] movies a year are you guys hoping to be [14:37] producing? [14:39] >> Well, our goal is to make 30 movies in [14:41] the next four years. So, we are we're [14:44] going to be very very deliberate in this [14:46] first year. Um, so we're working on two [14:48] projects simultaneously right now with [14:50] our team of 11. Um, but we have we have [14:53] great backers and we're very excited [14:55] about the projects that we are working [14:57] on. Uh, and also the things we're [14:59] developing for the future. And how do [15:01] you think about audience uh when you're [15:02] when you're kind of like greenlighting [15:04] projects right now? Um, you know, one of [15:06] the things I love about movies is that [15:08] they can be cultural touchston. We've [15:09] all seen some of the same movies [15:11] together. um in a future in which you [15:14] could target movies and make them very [15:16] cheaply toward very small groups. Do you [15:17] still think there's a f for the [15:19] blockbuster movie that everybody's seen? [15:22] >> Absolutely. I mean I think that the the [15:24] audiences the theatrical experience I I [15:28] believe it will as much as it will morph [15:30] and change I think there is a natural [15:33] inclination for us to want to get [15:35] together for the big event movies. Um, I [15:38] look at I look at movies like there's [15:40] this new filmmaker Zack Kger who his [15:42] movie Weapons just came out. Um, he he's [15:45] two for two. Both of his movies are [15:48] hits. They were made for a certain [15:49] budget point, but they got people [15:51] excited to go to the movies. The same [15:54] way that the big event spectacle movies [15:57] um that Disney specialized and Marvel [15:59] specialized in for for many for over a [16:02] decade now, uh, that I don't think [16:04] that's going away. I do believe that [16:07] there are there's it's going to be [16:08] constant change.