A UK filmmaker, Mike Bennion, was recently asked by a Hollywood movie production to use AI to save costs. The production wanted to see if AI could fill a budget gap at a lower price. The industry has been reluctant to publicly acknowledge its use of AI, with some big-name directors having previously faced backlash for using the technology in their films. Key figures such as Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh are now embracing AI in their work, with major studios also signing deals to integrate the tech into production processes, including A24's $75 million deal with Google and Disney's $1 billion deal with OpenAI.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Mike Bennion, an AI filmmaker from the UK, was recently asked by a Hollywood movie production in financial trouble to use AI to save costs. The production, which is not named due to confidentiality agreements, wanted to see if AI could help fill budget gaps at a lower price. This revelation highlights how filmmakers are increasingly using AI in secret, despite some being hesitant to publicly acknowledge its deployment. Bennion's own film, Kev, will be showcased at the Reply AI Film Festival in Venice this weekend, which has selected 10 finalists from over 3,000 submissions of AI-generated films. The event is taking place near the 83-year-old Venice Film Festival, where big-budget premieres are being screened.
Written for “Film Industry Embracing AI” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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The News
Hollywood’s dirty little secret is that filmmakers do like AI, and they use it to save money.
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they → like → money
A finalist in this year’s Reply AI Film Festival competition, Mike Bennion told Semafor he was recently asked to use AI for a Hollywood movie currently in production that was short on cash.
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that → tell → cash
“They wanted to see if AI could help fill that gap at a cheaper price,” he said.
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he → want → price
He didn’t disclose which film or which studio is backing the production, saying he was “sworn to secrecy,” adding that he finds the industry full of hypocrites who use the tech but are reluctant to say how and why they’re deploying it.
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they → disclose → it
Bennion is an AI filmmaker from the UK who will take the stage in Venice this weekend for his film Kev.
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who → take → film
His festival is just down the canal from the 83-year-old Venice Film Festival, where stars clad in gowns and tuxes will spend Labor Day weekend viewing big-budget premieres like Primetime, the Chris Hansen biopic starring Robert Pattinson, and Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine.
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stars → clothe → Pattinson
One will win the Golden Lion.
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One → win → Lion
The AI festival’s judges have chosen 10 finalists from a pool of more than 3,000 AI-generated film submissions to premiere at this year’s event.
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judges → choose → event
Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight and a juror for this year’s Reply AI Festival, said that Hollywood is abuzz with AI.
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Hollywood → say → AI
“Every single director that I’ve talked to in the last few months — some very big, Academy-nominated, big blockbuster directors — everybody’s curious about AI,” she said.
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she → talk → AI
And many directors are already using it for backdrops and previsualization, among other use cases, Hardwicke said.
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Hardwicke → use → cases
Until now, backlash has been Hollywood’s default stance on AI, as the industry slumped under pressure from entertainment streaming services and soaring production costs.
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industry → slump → services
Brady Corbet’s 2024 film The Brutalist was demonized for using AI to enhance the accents of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, and for using the tech to create architectural drawings and buildings in the style of Brody’s character, László Tóth.
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film → demonize → character
Corbet issued a statement defending the AI use cases amid swelling online revolt.
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Corbet → issue → revolt
Some of Hollywood’s biggest names are starting to embrace the technology: Steven Soderbergh said in April he’d use “a lot of AI” for a film he’s hoping to make about the Spanish-American war, and Darren Aronofsky has launched an AI-focused film studio, Primordial Soup.
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Aronofsky → start → studio
Even Martin Scorsese is getting in on it: In June, the Oscar-winning director joined the AI firm Black Forest Labs as an adviser.
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director → get → adviser
Some major studios have inked deals to integrate AI into the production process.
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studios → ink → process
A24 signed a $75 million deal with Google, and Disney struck a $1 billion deal with OpenAI to license some of its IP for AI video generation product Sora.
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Disney → sign → Sora
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos disclosed on the company’s recent earnings callthat AI has been used in about 300 Netflix titles so far this year.
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AI → disclose → titles
Jacopo Reale, another finalist and a creative director at the Rome-based Labyrinth Studios, an AI production company, said his AI film studio is working on a show for Sky Cinema, a British subscription service owned by Sky Group.
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studio → base → Group
Sky Group didn’t respond to Semafor’s request for comment.
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Group → respond → comment
Reale is no stranger to the backlash: When his first AI-assisted film went viral on X, he received multiple death threats for his use of AI.
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he → assist → AI
A recent Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans think that any creative work the tech touches makes for worse art than human-only creations.
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tech → find → creations
Part of that distaste is caused by the fact that the majority of AI-generated content people interact with is slop videos (think dancing cats, or the more salacious AI fruit videos which have clogged up feeds across Instagram Reels and TikTok).
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which → cause → Reels
AI can multiply the amount of content out there, and the bottom 99.9% of it is slop, but, as Bennion said, the top 0.1% could make for good storytelling.
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% → multiply → storytelling
It’s no surprise, however, that the industry is chugging along with the tech’s adoption despite its audience’s aversion to it.
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industry → ’ → it
AI can cheaply bandage production mistakes: smoothing over the makeup line of a character’s bald cap, for example, a flaw Hardwicke said she noticed in a rewatch of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
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she → bandage → Nest
And it’s no doubt a game changer for indie filmmakers with limited resources.
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it → ’ → resources
Bennion said he wouldn’t be a filmmaker today if it weren’t for the tools AI had afforded him.
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AI → say → him
