Paramount CEO Calls AI the Biggest Creative Unlock in Film History
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison told analysts on the company's earnings call that AI could surpass CGI as a force in filmmaking, calling it potentially "the biggest creative unlock in modern history." Citing Terminator's jump from $4 million to $60-70 million for a shot-for-shot remake, he argued AI can lower budget barriers and free up original storytelling, while insisting the technology is a tool for artists, not a replacement.
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During Paramount Skydance’s latest earnings call, CEO David Ellison said “it’s hard to imagine” AI won’t have a bigger impact on the film industry than CGI. In response to a question about the company’s outlook for AI, Ellison said:
“I think when you zoom out and look at production, AI really has the potential to be the biggest creative unlock in modern history. The last time we saw anything close to this was really the, you know, advent of CGI and digital composites in the early 90s. That technology gave birth to amazing stories like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, and it’s hard to imagine that AI is not going to have a more significant impact than that. And I personally believe that’s going to be an incredible unlock on creativity.”
Ellison gave Terminator as an example, describing how it cost $4 million to make, but “if you wanted to make that picture today, shot for shot, it’s $60 to 70 million.” He went on to suggest AI might be able to help with that: “We think these tools will help unlock more original storytelling by being able to make the budgets more digestible to be able to take that amount of risk.”
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Ellison said AI will “significantly” reshape Paramount Skydance’s business, saying the company has been developing its own AI tools. As a result of those tools, Ellison claims, “content will be easier to produce, projects across the organization will speed up, and how we work will transform.” He emphasized that “all of this makes the value of premium IP and live events more valuable, not less.”
Ellison also noted that “in a world of AI slop, we think there will always be a premium for truly hand-crafted storytelling.” He added, “We also continue to believe that artificial intelligence is a tool for artists and will never be a replacement for them.”