Hollywood creatives and the technology community discussed the game-changing impact of one of the world’s most exponential growth sectors at the fourth AI On The Lot conference in Los Angeles.
Across a series of workshops, panels and presentations (May 27-28), industry attendees including Revelations Entertainment CEO Lori McCreary, Native Foreign chief creative officer Nik Kleverov, and serial entrepreneur Ryan Kavanaugh highlighted the inherent tensions around a technology viewed as both a platform for workflow efficiencies and commercial opportunities and an existential threat to the workforce.
“Asking a writer if they used AI isn’t even the right question anymore because it’s built in too much [in the software and tools filmmakers use],” McCreary told a panel. “You have to be careful where the invisible AI is and make sure the contracts talks about whether you used AI and how you used it.”
McCreary called for industry standards around the technology, which she readily acknowledged can shave days off development process, enabling her to get the greenlight for more projects, and reduce costs in the production cycle.
The producer advised attendees to keep their eye on licensing. “[AI is] going to be a great opportunity for content producers or people who own things, even if it’s the movement of a character,” she said. “LLMs [large language models] still need a lot of material. You can license content for [character] movements as an ongoing monthly or yearly payment.”
On that subject AI audio company Eleven Labs announced a deal with Stan Lee Universe to bring the late Marvel Comics godfather’s voice and likeness into its Iconic Marketplace roster of celebrities, where buyers can licence more than a dozen voices and likenesses to do things like narrate audiobooks. This follows an earlier deal with Michael Caine.
“AI is going to be the best thing that ever happened to Hollywood […] It’s going to make what once was impossible possible,” said Dustin Blank, ElevenLabs head of content and talent partnerships. Blank added that the company’s technology can identify potentially offensive or problematic words of phrases in text prompts, however that seems to be as far as it can go as of now. “Once it’s out there, it’s out there,” he said.
In regard to potential legal action over copyright infringement, Native Foreign’s Kleverov said the company was diligently keeping a log of every prompt it uses in its work to ensure they did not reference established IP titles. “You’re constantly trying to track it,” he said.
Kleverov, who is directing the AI-animation hybrid family film Critterz that AGC International introduced to Cannes buyers, continued: “A lot of the same steps in storytelling still have to happen. You still have to have humans in the loop.”
Another Cannes participant was Kavanaugh, the former co-founder of Relativity Media and a longtime financier and producer who was on the Croisette touting his new company Acme AI & FX, which is producing Doug Liman’s thriller Bitcoin starring Casey Affleck, Gal Gadot, Isla Fisher, and Pete Davidson.
193 began pre-sales on the Croisette and announced a smattering of territory sales, although several buyers who spoke to Screen said the pricing was high and wanted to see the finished product before they make an offer. Kavanagh told the conference that the technology was able to reduce the budget from an initial $150m to $70m, of which he said $40m is below the line.
“AI is an art and not a science,” Kavanaugh told attendees, adding that filmmakers needed actual production experience to get the most out of the technology and make the most compelling work. Acme AI & FX has 12 projects at various stages of production.
The topic of job losses regularly comes up in AI conversations and is already understood to be impacting animation.
However Albie Hecht, industry veteran and former president of film and TV entertainment at Nickelodeon, told a panel that despite fears over prior advances like 3D and CGI, they created jobs. “It’s a new time for us to explore,” he said. “For animators out there who don’t know how to model and rig, AI can help them do that. I’m really excited. The opportunities are out there. We’re hiring. A lot of jobs will be created and a lot will be in LA.”
However Hecht added, “Learn it quickly and use it as a tool before it uses you as a tool.”
The 2026 AI On The Lot conference was supported by Amazon MGM Studios and took place on the studio lot and The Culver Theater. The organisers reported 2,460 attendees, almost double the 2025 number of 1,256 and up from 600 in the 2023 launch year.
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