Filmmaking / Directing : Hollywood Visionaries Are Betting on AI — and Reshaping the Industry From the Inside by Willem Elzenga 2

A growing number of Hollywood visionaries are investing in, advising, and co-founding the AI companies transforming how film and television are created.

Filmmakers Investing in and Building AI Companies:

James Cameron — Board Member, Stability AI

Cameron joined the board of Stability AI (creators of Stable Diffusion) to help shape the next generation of creative tools. He’s called AI “an amplifier for imagination,” and sees it as key to reducing the massive cost and complexity of blockbuster VFX — without losing artistic control.

Darren Aronofsky — Founder, Primordial Soup (with Google DeepMind)

Aronofsky launched Primordial Soup, a generative storytelling studio built with DeepMind, producing experimental short films like Ancestra. The goal: explore what happens when human direction meets AI-driven imagery — not as replacement, but as collaboration.

Natasha Lyonne — Co-Founder, Asteria Film Co. (with Moonvalley)

Through Asteria, Lyonne is developing a “clean-data” AI video model with startup Moonvalley, creators of the Marey system. Their first project, Uncanny Valley, uses generative visuals as narrative texture. Lyonne’s move positions her as part of a new class of producers shaping ethical AI pipelines from the inside.

Steven Spielberg — Advisor, Wonder Dynamics (now Autodesk Flow Studio)

Spielberg’s early involvement with Wonder Dynamics reflects his interest in AI tools that empower storytellers, not replace them. Now part of Autodesk’s Flow Studio, Wonder Dynamics uses AI to automate digital character compositing across live-action scenes, lowering the barrier to cinematic-grade effects.

Spike Jonze — Creative Partner, Sam Finn Studio / Gucci’s The Tiger

Jonze’s recent Gucci film The Tiger, integrated AI-generated sequences created by Sam Finn Studio, a boutique AI-art company. It shows how top directors are experimenting through high-profile brand work that doubles as R&D for new storytelling methods.

(Edited post from Linkedin)