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Tyler Perry
Noam Galai/Getty Images
For the past four years, Tyler Perry had been planning an $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio, which would have added 12 sound stages to the 330-acre property. Now, however, those ambitions are on hold, thanks to the rapid developments it’s seeing in the artificial intelligence space, including OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video model, which debuted on February 15 and surprised observers with their cinematic video outputs.
“Being told he can do all these things is one thing, but seeing his capabilities was mind-blowing,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, noting that their productions may not have to travel to locations or build sets with the help of technology.
As a business owner, Perry sees opportunity in these developments, but as an employer, fellow actor and filmmaker, he also wants to sound the alarm. In an interview between shoots on Thursday, Perry explained his concerns about the impact of technology on work and why he wants the industry to come together to address AI: “There has to be some type of regulation to protect us. If not, I just don’t see how we will survive.”
After watching Sora, what are your current feelings about how quickly AI technology is advancing and how it might affect entertainment in the near term?
I’ve been looking very closely at AI and watching the advancements very closely. I was in the middle of, and I’ve been planning for the last four years, about an $800 million expansion at the studio, which would have increased the backlot by a tremendous size, we were adding 12 more sound stages. All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I’m seeing. I had been informed for the last year that this was going to happen, but had no idea until I recently saw demonstrations of what he is capable of doing. It’s shocking to me.
What surprised you most about their capabilities?
I wouldn’t have to travel places anymore. If I wanted to be in the snow in Colorado, it would be text. If I wanted to write a scene on the moon, it would be text and this AI can generate it like it was nothing. If I wanted to have two people in the living room on the mountain, I don’t have to build a set on the mountain, I don’t have to put a set on my lot. I can sit in an office and do this with a computer, which is shocking to me.
I care a lot about everyone in the business. Because as I watched it, I immediately started thinking about everyone in the industry that would be affected by this, including actors, grip, electrical, transportation, sound, and editors, and as I watch this, I think it will affect to all. corner of our industry.
Are you currently implementing AI in any of your productions and/or do you plan to do so in the near future?
I just used AI in two movies that will be announced soon. That kept me without makeup for hours. In post-production and on set, I was able to use this AI technology to avoid having to sit for hours in aging makeup.
How do you plan to address the threat that AI poses to certain job categories in your studio and in your productions?
Everything is up in the air now. It’s so malleable. Technology advances very quickly. I feel like everyone in the industry is running at a hundred miles an hour to try to catch up, to try to put in guardrails and seat belts to keep livelihoods afloat. But I, like every other studio in town, we’re all trying to figure it out. I think we’re all trying to find the answers as we go, and that changes every day, and it’s not just our industry, but AI will impact every industry, from accountants to architects. If you look at it around the world, how it’s changing so quickly, I hope there’s a whole government approach to help everyone be able to sustain themselves, that’s my hope.
How would you like to see the entertainment industry as a whole deal with this rapidly developing technology?
I absolutely think it has to be an industry-wide approach. It cannot be that a union fights every contract every two or three years. I think everyone has to be involved in how we protect the future of our industry because it is changing rapidly, before our eyes. I think about all the construction workers and contractors who are not going to be employed because I will not do the next phase of the study because there is no need to do it.
What is your message to the industry right now, as we watch this unfold?
I know that each union is individual and I know that unions have supported each other in times of negotiation, but I believe this is the time to push a moving voice to help save and protect the individuals in our industry.
As a studio owner, do you feel any pressure to use AI right now?
No. I don’t feel any pressure to use it, but I’m definitely looking into the benefits and what it brings to the table. However, I can focus on the end result of my studio continuing to do extremely well and avoid the conversation, or we can intervene and have the conversation head-on to make sure we are protecting everyone who is coming up. So I have two sides to this. In my case, I look at my business and the bottom line, but I am also very concerned about all the people I have trained and bought into this industry. I worry what will happen to them.
How do you think this convergence of rapid AI development and the current industry contraction will play out?
I think it’s going to be a huge game changer, because if you could spend a fraction of the cost to make a pilot, that would have cost $15 (million), $20 million or even $35 million if you’re looking at HBO. Of course, the bottom line for those companies would be to follow the path of lowest costs. That is why I am very concerned that many jobs will be lost in the near future. I really feel very strongly.
Who needs to act? You’re talking about this, but who else should talk? and working on this?
I just hope that as people adopt this technology and as companies move to reduce costs and save bottom lines, there is some kind of thought and some kind of compassion for humanity and the people who have worked in this industry and built careers and lives, that there is some kind of thought for them. And I think the only way to move forward on this is to galvanize it as one voice, not only in Hollywood and in this industry, but also in Congress.