The use of AI was a key point of contention in the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, with guilds specifically demanding stringent protections against AI-generated content and performances.
Now, a new startup called Staircase Studios AI is trying to find a compromise, using the technology to make cheaper content while still employing dozens of creatives.
“The best stories come from artists,” Brett Stuart, 40, head of AI-filmmaking at Staircase Studios AI, told NYNext. “And these are tools that are empowering, not replacing them.”
Many content producers in the AI space are using video-generators, like OpenAI’s Sora, that create photorealistic videos based on a few keywords in a matter of seconds.
Staircase’s approach is fundamentally different and aims to infuse the technology with a human element.
Artists are involved in every step of production: scripts are written by writers, storyboards and shot-plans are devised by directors, and characters are voiced and mimed by actors.
“It just allows artists to do more … a lot more quickly,” Stuart told NY Next.
The studio, which launched in the first week of March, is currently in production on its first feature, “The Woman with Red Hair.”
Set against the backdrop of World War II, the movie tells the true story of Johanna “Hannie” Schaft, a young woman who joined the Dutch resistance, evolved into a lethal assassin and became one of the Nazi’s most-wanted enemies.
The script, written by Michael Schatz in 2016, made “The Black List” — an annual survey of the most-liked screenplays in Hollywood. But, like many deserving stories, it languished in development limbo for years.
Staircase — which was founded by “Divergent” producer Pouya Shahbazian, 47, and is backed by NYC venture capitalist Kenneth Lerer, 72, formerly the chairman and co-founder of Huffington Post — is aiming to produce seven or eight projects per year, each for under $500,000.
That’s a relatively reasonable sum compared to most Hollywood features, which typically have budgets in the range of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Every aspect of Staircase’s films — including the stars and sets — will be computer generated, but the studio is still buying scripts from writers and using human talent to voice dialogue and provide facial expressions.
“I’ve dedicated myself to pairing ethical AI usage with our industry’s most underutilized assets —overlooked stories waiting to be produced from fantastic writers and directors,” Shahbazian told The Hollywood Reporter.
The crew on “The Woman with Red Hair” includes former Pixar executive Teddy Newton, who designed the characters, as well as Emmy Award-winning animator Alfred Gimeno (“Kung Fu Panda”).
In a press release, Staircase said “it is committed to working with union members in many production departments” and will pay “industry rates” for dialogue performances. According to Stuart, the union status of crew on “The Woman with Red Hair” is “highly variable.”
In a promotional video for the studio, early footage of the film looks remarkably life-like.
But, Stuart admitted that the dreaded “uncanny valley” phenomenon, where images look almost but not quite real, can still be an issue.
“We’re not quite there yet,” the filmmaker told NY Next. “Six to 12 months from now, it’s going to get pretty close to indistinguishable.”
The global market for AI in film is forecast to grow exponentially in the coming decade, with a projected value of over $14 billion by 2033.
While controversial, AI has been used in films for years. It was employed to change characters’ eye color in “Dune: Part Two” and used to alter voices and generate imagery in “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez.” Documentaries, such as “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” have relied on AI to recreate voices from the past.
“[Some in Hollywood have this] belief that this is going to just destroy everything … [but] that is not at all what I think this is going to do,” Stuart told NY Next.
He stressed that Staircase isn’t looking to make huge blockbusters — or threaten the livelihood of stars and crew.
Rather, he said the studio will offer an avenue for the production of more stories like “Moonlight” — which won the Oscar for Best Picture and had a budget of just $1.5 million — and make meaningful movies that might have limited commercial potential.
“We can make something that is a little bit cheaper for a smaller audience,” Stuart told NY Next.
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Staircase projects on the horizon include “Wild Night,” an adaptation of a YA novel by bestselling author Patrick Lee, and “Fully Wrecked,” an original screenplay by Scott Wolman and Josh Feldman that made the 2013 Black List.
“Here’s a chance,” Stuart told NY Next, “to tell these really phenomenal stories that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks.”
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