Runway, a startup developing AI video tools, including video-generating models, has partnered with Lionsgate — the studio behind the “John Wick” and “Twilight” franchises — to train a custom video model on Lionsgate’s movie catalog. Lionsgate vice chair Michael Burns said in a statement that the studio’s “filmmakers, directors and other creative talent” will get access to the model to “augment their work.”
Runway, which says it’s also considering ways to license models as templates for individual creators to build and train their own custom models, is the first generative AI startup to publicly team up with a major Hollywood studio. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Disney and Paramount have had discussions with generative AI providers, but those talks haven’t yet borne fruit.
Lionsgate and Runway’s deal comes a day after California signed bills restricting the use of AI digital replicas in film and television projects, and as Runway fights a lawsuit that alleges the company trained its models on copyrighted works without permission.