OpenAI Pitches New AI Video Generating Software to Hollywood
OpenAI pitched Sora, an artificial intelligence text-to-video tool, to Hollywood filmmakers and digital creators after a year of refining the technology.
In February 2024, OpenAI, the company that developed and owns ChatGPT, announced its new software Sora, which generates up to a minute-long video based on whatever description the user types in. Although the generative material was not ready for big screens at the time, the company argues it is now.
On Wednesday, OpenAI hosted an event called Sora Selects at Brain Dead Studios, a movie theater in Los Angeles. From there, they screened 11 short films made with Sora. The films demonstrated how the technology can produce a variety of environments such as medieval times, dreams, and sunsets. Some films even featured depictions of humans and animals.
OpenAI asserts, “The model has a deep understanding of language, enabling it to accurately interpret prompts and generate compelling characters that express vibrant emotions. Sora can also create multiple shots within a single generated video that accurately persist characters and visual style.”
“The model understands not only what the user has asked for in the prompt, but also how those things exist in the physical world,” they added.
4o image generation has arrived.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 25, 2025
It's beginning to roll out today in ChatGPT and Sora to all Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users. pic.twitter.com/pFXDzKhh2t
Despite some indie film filmmakers praising Sora for allowing them to test ideas without using up their budget, other creatives argue against it, and similar AI tools that can take away animating and acting jobs.
According to The Animation Guild, “About 21.4% of Film, Television, and Animation jobs (or approximately 118,500 jobs) are likely to have a sufficient number of tasks affected to be either consolidated, replaced, or eliminated by GenAI in the U.S. by 2026.”
While Sora puts animators and actors in jeopardy, AI threatens the rest of the entertainment industry as well. The use of AI was a major point of discussion during the Writers Guild of America strike in 2023.
Studios and the WGA came to an agreement that, “AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA [minimum basic agreement,] meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.”
Although this protects writers’ jobs, there are still ways around it. AI can still be used for research purposes in the writers’ room as well as for brainstorming ideas. Studios fought for the use of AI to be regulated, not completely banned.
With the advancement of AI, Hollywood risks losing much of its workforce. The creative industry as a whole is threatened by increasing mechanization. As much as these technologies are helpful and useful, they are also harmful to creatives who rely on their art to survive.
