Tyler Perry took one look at Sora and realized that everything was about to change in the world of Hollywood.
In case you missed it, Sora is a new AI video technology that looks really, really, really good.
And, like all of us, Madea creator and movie maker Tyler Perry realized that Sora's AI was legit.
And so he's paused his studio expansion in Atlanta, Georgia, because he understands that this AI is going to take over a lot of jobs.
'Being told that it can do all of these things is one thing, but actually seeing the capabilities, it was mind-blowing,' he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, noting that his productions might not have to travel to locations or build sets with the assistance of the technology.
As a business owner, Perry sees the opportunity in these developments, but as an employer, fellow actor and filmmaker, he also wants to raise the alarm. In an interview between shoots Thursday, Perry explained his concerns about the technology's impact on labor and why he wants the industry to come together to tackle AI: 'There's got to be some sort of regulations in order to protect us. If not, I just don't see how we survive.'
Perry, who is in the midst of building an $800 million new studio, with 12 sound stages, and plans to employ lots of people is now seemingly regretting his investment.
AI might, in his own words, replace all of the hard work that goes into making movies a lot sooner than anyone thought.
Here's Perry:
I no longer would have to travel to locations. If I wanted to be in the snow in Colorado, it's text. If I wanted to write a scene on the moon, it's text, and this AI can generate it like nothing. If I wanted to have two people in the living room in the mountains, I don't have to build a set in the mountains, 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.
That's hundreds of location scouts, CGI animators, cameramen, like, 80% of the movie industry who will lose their jobs. Sure, we'll still have actors and directors, but the little guy in the movie business? He can start looking for other jobs.
Perry is using AI in his movies already, but he knows that the human impact will be huge.
I just hope that as people are embracing this technology and as companies are moving to reduce costs and save the bottom line, that there'll be some sort of thought and some sort of compassion for humanity and the people that have worked in this industry and built careers and lives, that there's some sort of thought for them. And I think the only way to move forward in this is to galvanize it as one voice, not only in Hollywood and in this industry, but also in Congress.
It's a strange new world out there.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
