by Michael Carrier and Brian Gabriel
On February 18, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major Hollywood studios, sent a cease-and-desist letter to China’s ByteDance accusing the company of exploiting studio IP.1 It was a reaction to the now infamous AI-generated Tom Cruise vs. Brad Pitt fight video made with Seedance 2.0 – described by many studio insiders as an “Oh shit” moment. The same day, it was reported from India that Google DeepMind was partnering with the government to expand AI across all industries and a major Indian studio entered into a JV with a technology startup to produce AI movies at scale.2
Source: Bytedance Seed website
This contrasting news was a good summary of the state of AI in filmmaking today.
- It’s happening now, and momentum is increasing
- Proliferation is global, with Asia playing a major role as both developer and user
- Cross-border legal and ethical issues are popping up that require governance and regulation
- Players at all levels are trying to respond in real-time
It’s also a reminder that there are always two sides of the same coin when it comes to innovation, opportunity and threat. Some lead and drive change, and others follow and are subject to change. As the old proverb goes, “One man’s blessing is another one’s curse.”
A Century of Technological Disruption
Going back a year, some of this was predictable – and some wasn’t. We knew the gen-AI tool makers were rushing to address issues with consistency, fidelity and control. Nevertheless, it was still shocking to learn that the Seedance video was apparently generated from just a handful of reference images and prompts, whereas it would have required a sizable production by a Hollywood studio. It raises a big question about what comes next.
But taking a broader view of history, this is all part of the ongoing evolution of entertainment. Filmmakers as creative people have always looked for new and better ways to tell their stories and reach a bigger audience. And the studios have always sought new and better ways to produce and distribute more content, maximizing maximizing scale, growth, and revenue..
Technology has been at the core of change. The studios were first formed in the 1910-1920s to avert Thomas Edison’s filmmaking patents. They perfected silent films through sophisticated storytelling and cinematography, supplanting the zoetropes, flip books and animated shorts that came before. They then added sound and color from the 1930-1940s, leading to the Golden Age of Hollywood which peaked at 90 million box-office tickets sold per week. In the meantime, television exploded from the 1950s-1960s, ultimately reaching 95% of households. The availability of VHS, cable and DVDs from the 1970s-1990s allowed more people to watch at home, with box office ticket sales dropping by two thirds.
Once the internet arrived in the early 2000s, distribution went digital, enabling streaming and on-demand viewing of both TV and film – thereby rendering VHS and DVD obsolete. Meanwhile, mobile phones and smart phones enabled viewing anytime and anywhere. TV viewership dropped by 40% and cable dropped by a third. And now in the 2020s, social platforms have become the leading distribution and consumption channel, with individual content creators producing more video content than the studios combined.
In this span of 120 years, it has been a continuous cycle of innovation and disruption. Everything about how films are produced, distributed and consumed has changed time and again. The formats, channels and industry players have all morphed. The “death of Hollywood” was predicted at every turn. Yet the economic pie has steadily grown, while the slices within it have constantly changed in shape, size and distribution.
Why AI Is Different
Having said all of this, we can’t just write off AI as another technology trend. It has the potential to be revolutionary. The speed, depth and breadth of change across all industries is staggering. It is quickly moving from the experimental phase to the mass adoption phase, blowing right over the so-called innovator’s chasm.
It has the potential to impact every step of the filmmaking process – a prospect that is both promising and scary at the same time. On the efficiency side, it can help to integrate, automate and consolidate repetitive tasks and data-centric functions. On the production quality side, it can help to design, simulate and enhance visuals, sound and music. And on the audience experience side, it can help to understand consumers and personalize content delivery. For now, the only thing AI cannot replicate is human inspiration, emotion, and personal expression—the core of creativity – although the saying “never say never” comes to mind.
This is a big reason why AI in filmmaking is so controversial now. Traditional Hollywood is perceived by many to be in decline. The data is compelling: Fewer movies made by fewer studios, lower box office, under-utilized sound stages, fewer location permits, less shoot days, less job openings, higher unemployment, underfunded union pension plans, etc. People working in the industry are naturally afraid of what comes next. They’re understandably suspicious and defensive.
The next round of studio and trade union negotiations this year will regulate the pace of AI adoption and change in Hollywood. But whether they will be able to strike an equilibrium between innovation and stability is unclear. We won’t know if there is a viable win-win until the dust settles. Hollywood’s fate hangs in the balance.
The Rise of a Global Film Ecosystem
Yet, at the same time, a new “global Hollywood” has emerged. Outside the United States, filmmakers have absorbed lessons from Hollywood while developing their own storytelling techniques and technologies. Many have mastered domestic markets before expanding internationally, carving out strong niches in the global marketplace.
In Asia, regional entertainment hubs now dot the region from Korea to India. China is now the second largest consumer market for films, and the inventor of the hottest content trend, vertical dramas. Korean and Japanese content – music, TV shows and films – are mainstream in overseas markets. Bollywood is the largest producer of films in the world, making 10 times more films than Hollywood.3 And individual creators from Asia and all over the world together make 20,000 times more video content for YouTube than the Hollywood studios together do for all distribution channels.
Why AI Could Benefit Asian Filmmakers
This is precisely why AI presents such a compelling opportunity for Asian filmmakers. They are in some ways at the right time in the right place. Today, they are no longer followers. They are leaders with unique stories, distinct voices, homegrown talent and Hollywood-grade production capabilities. They own IP in high demand with built-in audiences. They have access to many of the latest and greatest tools as well as the capital to invest in integration. And they are not locked into negotiations and long-term agreements with trade unions. It is a strong position to influence the next phase of entertainment evolution and carve out a larger piece of the pie.
The seeds of adoption have already been planted, with the potential for robust growth. In China, film and TV studios are already integrating AI into production workflows at scale.4 In Japan, animation studios are using AI to drive productivity in the face of a dwindling workforce. In India, independent filmmakers are using AI tools for lower budget films to stand out in a plethora of content, and established filmmakers are using it to cost-effectively realize complex VFX shots. In Korea, the first AI film was released in theaters in 2025.5 Each of these countries is also developing their own tools or building on top of existing ones from the US.
However, like Hollywood, Asia will have to effectively deal with its own unique challenges. Animation in Japan is a good case study. Animation has always been viewed as a passion project emanating from the blood, sweat and tears of dedicated artists. Its fans are equally passionate and loyal. But, after multiple studios announced they were using AI to automate manual tasks such as coloring, in-between and backgrounds, a vocal backlash erupted. Many fans feel that the authenticity of traditional handcrafted techniques – and therefore the art form itself – is being compromised. There are even groups of fans who analyze recent releases frame-by-frame to check for minute tell-tale AI discrepancies. It has caused the studios to retrench and re-position their messaging.6
Moreover, to be treated as equals in the broader ecosystem, Asian filmmakers need to be perceived as using AI responsibly. In an interdependent network, they will not be able to succeed if they just ignore everyone else’s interests. They must respect legal and ethical standards and learn to self-govern as well as collaborate on regulation. And they will need to play a role in cross-country and cross-region standards harmonization.
For Asian filmmakers, the coming decade will be defined by how effectively they balance innovation with responsibility. AI may reshape the industry, but the outcome will depend on the choices creators and institutions make today. “Where one door closes, another one opens.”
Sources:
1 “Motion Picture Association Pushes ByteDance to Curb Seedance 2.0 AI Infringement.” Variety. February 20, 2026
2 “Abundantia Entertainment, invideo commit 100 crore to launch AI-driven studio.” Fortune India. February 18, 2026
3 “Global Film Production Hits Historic High, Surpassing Pre-Pandemic Levels.” WIPO. April 30, 2025
4 “China’s 1st whale-process Ai-generated animated feature film tells cross-Straits reunion through pandas.” Global Times. March 8, 2026
5 South debuts first AI feature film ‘Run to the West’.” The Korea Herald. October 12, 2025
6 “Amid Toei’s AI Controversy, the Anime Industry Is Pushing Back: ‘Aren’t We Shooting Ourselves In the Foot?’” Screenrant Daily. May 29, 2025
Writers
Michael Carrier
Michael is a global technologist and filmmaker. He spent the last 30 years launching and growing businesses in Japan and the US. He founded TOWER5 in Tokyo in 2023, an independent production company that provides emerging Japanese filmmakers with an opportunity to share their vision with the world. As the head producer, he has produced seven feature films that have won awards at major film festivals and been distributed internationally. Prior to that, he worked in Silicon Valley for 16 years. He was sector leader of HP’s media and entertainment services business from 2013, and VP of GlobalLogic’s private equity practice from 2021. He has a BA from Loyola Marymount (Asian studies, film) and an MBA from UCLA.
Brian Gabriel
Brian Gabriel is an attorney and filmmaker. He started his career as a producer’s assistant for film and TV. He was then an assistant animator/lip sync artist on the series “South Park” until 2013. He was also a contributing writer to Cartoon Brew, a leading animation news website, covering IP and copyright issues. He graduated with a BFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and received his juris doctorate from Loyola Law School.
