AI is already impacting Hollywood. Just as Pixar has announced a 14% layoff of its Animation Studio, a group of filmmakers are launching an AI film and animation studio and has snagged some A-list advisors.
Eric Day, Benjamin Michel, and Nick Confalone have launched LA-based Late Night Labs with Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne and Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto among its advisors.
The trio are using generative AI in the creative process but are hoping that the new technology can also provide artists with “tangible ownership” with what they create.
Day and Michel have worked in immersive media with the likes of Disney, NFL, New York Times, Epic, Hulu, Global Citizen, and Google, while Confalone is a 20-year veteran writer/producer in children’s television, best known for his work on Hasbro’s My Little Pony franchise, Apple’s Helpsters, and Disney’s SuperKitties.
Late Night Labs’ slate includes film and television projects with a range of filmmakers, animators, and documentarians – the first of which debut later this year.
“There are obviously big changes happening right now in our industry,” said Confalone. “But we’re not talking about replacing people with AI, just as Pixar didn’t replace animators with computers. Our shared vision is to use this new technology to provide artists with tangible ownership in what they create.”
“Generative AI is a tool that can be used in the creative process,” added Day. “There is an opportunity to set the stage for its future use. With that goal in mind, we’ve developed proprietary AI technologies to give artists unprecedented control over every aspect of their creations.”
“Even if you could prompt your way through a feature film, would you really want to?” said Michel. “There’s joy in the process of filmmaking, and we want to keep that artistry at the center, ahead of the tech. We’re building this so the technology is in service of the artist, not the other way around.”
Lyonne, Soto and Asteria Film Co. are also involved.
“In this moment of technological evolution we’re living through, we—the artists—have a chance for more autonomy in our creative expression, and for a bigger ownership of the intellectual property we create,” said Soto. “I’m optimistic, because the more we have creative control over this technology, the less likely it’ll be used against us.”
“Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that AI is already ubiquitous,” added Lyonne. “It seems to me that it’s better for us as artists to help shape this revolution than find ourselves at its mercy.”
