Amazon MGM Studios is preparing to launch a closed beta program in March that will allow industry partners to test new artificial intelligence tools designed to streamline television and film production. The company expects to share initial results from the program by May, marking a significant step in Hollywood’s adoption of AI technology.
The AI Studio, which launched last August, is led by veteran entertainment executive Albert Cheng and operates as a small team consisting primarily of product engineers and scientists, with a smaller creative and business group. Cheng described the initiative as a startup within Amazon, following founder Jeff Bezos’s philosophy of keeping teams small enough to be fed by two pizzas.
Purpose Behind the AI Initiative
Amazon is embracing artificial intelligence in response to rising production budgets that limit how many shows and films companies can afford to create. Cheng explained that the high cost of content creation makes it challenging to produce more projects or take creative risks. The AI tools aim to accelerate certain processes and enable studios to make more movies and TV shows more efficiently, though Cheng emphasized that the technology will not replace human creativity.
The company stressed that writers, directors, actors, and character designers will remain involved at every stage of production, using AI as a tool to enhance rather than replace their work. The focus includes protecting intellectual property and ensuring that AI-generated content won’t be absorbed into other AI models.
Technical Capabilities and Partnerships
The AI Studio is developing tools to bridge what Cheng called the last mile between existing consumer AI offerings and the precise control directors need for cinematic content. These capabilities include improving character consistency across shots and integrating with industry-standard creative tools for pre- and post-production filmmaking.
Amazon is leveraging its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, for technical support and plans to collaborate with multiple large language model providers to offer creators a wider range of options. The AI Studio is working with notable industry figures, including producer Robert Stromberg known for Maleficent and his company Secret City, actor Kunal Nayyar from The Big Bang Theory and his company Good Karma Productions, and former Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic animator Colin Brady.
Real-World Application Example
Amazon has already demonstrated the potential of its AI tools through its biblical series House of David. In the second season of the show, director Jon Erwin used AI combined with live-action footage to create battle scenes, seamlessly blending the two elements to expand the scope of sequences while reducing costs. The season featured 350 AI-generated shots, showcasing how the technology can be applied in actual production scenarios.
Industry Context and Concerns
The move to adopt AI comes as Hollywood grapples with questions about the technology’s impact on jobs, creativity, and the future of filmmaking. A-list actors like Emily Blunt have expressed concerns about AI potentially making their jobs obsolete, particularly regarding the development of AI actresses.
Amazon has pointed to AI successes as among the reasons for cutting approximately 30,000 corporate jobs since October, its largest layoff ever. That included 16,000 jobs eliminated in January and 14,000 in October, with some cuts affecting Prime Video positions.
Other streaming platforms are also experimenting with AI technology. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the series The Eternaut used generative AI to create a building collapse scene, demonstrating that Amazon is not alone in exploring these tools.
The closed beta program represents Amazon’s effort to refine its AI tools with industry feedback before a wider rollout, as Hollywood continues navigating the balance between technological innovation and preserving the human elements that define filmmaking.
