Lionsgate announced on September 18th, 2024 that it had officially signed a deal with AI Company Runway to let its libraries of work be used to train their engines. The deal will include access to everything from the studio’s libraries to train the AI for its implementation into Lionshate’s future projects. This includes both live-action projects and animation with the companies expressing a desire to see it used in the VFX and Storyboard departments. The library contains a massive 18,000-plus catalog of films that include Lionsgate’s biggest hits including, the John Wick films, the Twilight films, and The Hunger Games, along with Lionsgate’s recent films from Borderlands and The Crow.
In a quote from the Wall Street Journal that broke the story, Lionsgate’s vice chairman Michael Burns stated that the goal was to save “millions and millions of dollars” by using the AI tools to phase out large teams and lengthy process of VFX and Storyboard work, considered by many in the industry to be some of the most difficult but most integral jobs to developing films. This was then followed by Burns insisting that many of the Lionsgate staff were excited to use the tech and work with Runway. This announcement was made amid the ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit Runway and other AI companies are facing from multiple fronts claiming that these companies infringed on the work of both other companies and individuals.
Later the following Thursday on September 26th Runway announced that as a result of its deal with Lionsgate, it was setting up ‘The Hundred Film Fund‘, a grant system that they are claiming will award indie filmmakers 5,000 to up to a million dollars to assist in movies utilizing its AI tech in their production. Runway stated that this meant their company had a generous stake in speeding up film production by investing their tech into these independent productions.
Runway published a webpage outlining the grant’s requirements and outlines. This story is still developing.
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