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Artificial intelligence (AI) has altered Tyler Perry’s plans for a significant business venture.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Perry was looking to expand his 330-acre studio in Atlanta, GA, adding 12 soundstages to the property. However, the $800 million project is now being halted, and Perry cites AI-powered platform Sora and its capabilities for the decision. Per Sora’s website, the platform offers a text-to-video model that can generate videos up to one minute long according to the user’s prompt.
“I have been watching AI very closely and watching the advancements very closely. I was in the middle of, and have been planning for the last four years, about an $800 million expansion at the studio, which would’ve increased the backlot a tremendous size, we were adding 12 more soundstages,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter. “All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I’m seeing. I had gotten word over the last year or so that this was coming, but I had no idea until I saw recently the demonstrations of what it’s able to do. It’s shocking to me.”
Perry points out the advantages of integrating AI, highlighting its potential to alleviate the workload involved in building sets for his productions as well as eliminating the necessity for travel to find the right scenery.
“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,” Perry told the outlet.
As a business owner, he grabbed the chance to use it in real time, citing the technology has been incorporated into his upcoming two films slated for release — a move he asserts was beneficial because he could “avoid ever having to sit through hours of aging makeup.”
While the technologies capabilities are impressive, the fast-paced evolution of AI is shaking up industries, with outcomes being both advantageous and detrimental as some are weary of its impact on the workforce. Perry admits that halting the expansion of his Atlanta studio will result in numerous construction workers and contractors missing out on opportunities.
He goes a step further, warning that AI will, in fact, affect “every aspect of our industry,” including jobs for actors, sound experts, editors, and beyond. Still, he expresses hope that individuals will be safeguarded throughout its development.
“Everything right now is so up in the air. It’s so malleable. The technology’s moving so quickly. I feel like everybody in the industry is running a hundred miles an hour to try and catch up, to try and put in guardrails and to try and put in safety belts to keep livelihoods afloat,” Perry said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “But me, just like every other studio in town, we’re all trying to figure it all out. I think we’re all trying to find the answers as we go, and it’s changing every day — and it’s not just our industry, but it’s every industry that AI will be affecting, from accountants to architects. If you look at it across the world, how it’s changing so quickly, I’m hoping that there’s a whole government approach to help everyone be able to sustain, is my hope.”
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