The man who now runs Paramount and Warner Bros. says AI will change movies more than CGI ever did

So, the entertainment industry is still wrestling with the whole AI conundrum: is it a tool, a threat, or the next big leap for storytelling? If you ask David Ellison, the CEO of Skydance, he seems more than ready to embrace the AI future—and reckons it could change movies even more than CGI did back in the day. Yes, that's a big claim. But Ellison isn't new to grand ambitions; his company now sits atop both Paramount and Warner Bros. thanks to some fairly audacious acquisitions over the past couple of years.

Ellison Betting on AI

The most revealing bit came out in Skydance's latest earnings call, where Ellison fielded a question about their plans for artificial intelligence. You might be expecting the usual corporate waffle, but actually, he didn't hedge around it. Here's how he summed up AI's potential during the call:

"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."

According to Ellison, we're talking about the sort of shift that gave us Jurassic Park and Terminator 2—except with even bigger long-term consequences. And as strange as it sounds, when you look at the original Terminator film: made for just over $6 million back in 1984, but today that'd set you back about $60-70 million once the accountants get involved. Ellison reckons AI can help chop those budgets back down, making it less financially risky to go after more original stories. He claims their home-grown AI tech could speed up production while making things cheaper and easier on creatives, but—probably aware of how that could sound—he did add a nod to actual artists still being essential:

"In a world of AI slop, we think there will always be a premium for truly hand-crafted storytelling. We also continue to believe that artificial intelligence is a tool for artists and will never be a replacement for them."

Skydance Wants to Run Hollywood

If you're wondering how Skydance ended up in such a dominant position—well, they've ballooned into one of the most powerful studios in under two years, snapping up both Paramount and Warner Bros. in rapid succession. Ellison's got no plans to go quiet now, either. He talks about having 'big goals' for the company, and says they're chasing them with 'passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks'. The plan, apparently, is to let Paramount and Warner Bros. do what they do best, but then soup up their reach and resources with Skydance's muscle—especially now AI is in the toolbox.

• Skydance now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros. after acquisitions in less than two years
• The company is actively developing internal AI tools to drive down production costs
• Ellison claims AI will enable bigger creative risks by making original films more affordable to make
• He insists artists remain at the heart of the process despite all the new tech
• The studio has made headlines lately for dramatic moves, like ousting James Gunn and Peter Safran as heads of DC Studios

Skydance took over Paramount and Warner Bros. in a whirlwind two-year stretch.

There's no guarantee this AI experiment will go how Ellison hopes, but he clearly fancies a shot at reshaping Hollywood with his own set of tech tools—and in the process, rewriting how costly or risky making original films might be. At the moment, nobody seems entirely sure what that'll look like on screen. But with Skydance behind two of the biggest studios in Hollywood, whatever happens next, you'll be seeing it whether you like it or not.