Tyler Perry has put the plan of his Atlanta studio expansion on hold, thanks to AI. The actor and filmmaker revealed to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday that his $800 million expansion plan that would have added twelve sound stages to the aforestated facility has taken a back seat, primarily due to OpenAI’s text-to-video model Sora, which debuted on February 15, and others of its kind.
While Perry expressed that he sees the potential in technology as a filmmaker, he also raised flags about the work opportunities it would end up taking from the human workforce.
Tyler Perry The Filmmaker — Has he implemented AI in any of his films?
Highlighting the advantages of AI in filmmaking, Tyler Perry said, “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 can sit in an office and do this with a computer, which is shocking to me.”
The filmmaker best known for the Madea franchise made the comments specifically regarding Sora, OpenAI’s newest endeavor that converts texts to videos. He also revealed that he has used AI in two of his upcoming films that are going to be announced soon.
The filmmaker who is also an actor, however, also sounded alarms for the people in business whose jobs could be eliminated because of the artificial intelligence advancements.
Tyler Perry calls for the entertainment industry and the government to regulate AI to save human jobs
Raising concerns over how rapidly and effectively AI is replacing humans in the workforce, Perry told THR, “It makes me worry so much about all of the people in the business. Because as I was looking at it, I immediately started thinking of everyone in the industry who would be affected by this, including actors and grip and electric and transportation and sound and editors, and looking at this, I’m thinking this will touch every corner of the industry.”
Providing that the entertainment industry needs a course of action to save the future of the industry from the influence of AI, Perry said, “I absolutely think it has to be an all-hands-on, whole industry approach. It can't be one union fighting every contract every two or three years. I think that it has to be everybody, all involved in this, to protect the future of our industry because it is changing rapidly, right before our eyes.”
Perry did not limit his concerns regarding AI just to the film industry though. He went on to call for government involvement on the matter that will be affecting everyone, “from accountants to architects” and every industry beyond.
“If you look at 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,” he said.
For 2024, Perry is involved with two upcoming Netflix movies, Mea Culpa and Six Triple Eight.
ALSO READ: Tyler Perry's Net Worth 2023: All you need to know about the Billionaire
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