Entertainment and AI News

<p>Seedance 2.5 and the Next Generation of AI Video Creation, Chinese AI Short “Website” Wins Two Awards at Venice, AI Is Deflating Hollywood’s Microdramas Scene, and other news.</p><p><br></p><p>AI Is Deflating Hollywood’s Microdramas Scene</p><p>AI-generated vertical videos are disrupting Hollywood’s microdramas boom, with major platforms like DramaBox, DramaWave, and FlareFlow increasingly embracing synthetic actors and settings. While live-action microdramas typically cost $100,000 to $300,000 and require 50 workers over seven days, AI projects can be completed by five people in two weeks for $60,000 to $100,000. Some apps claim 20- to 30-minute AI projects can be made for as little as $1,000 to $3,000. The shift has devastated employment for Los Angeles-area cast and crew who saw verticals as a lifeline after the 2023 Hollywood strikes.</p><p>Beyond job losses, the rise of AI microdramas has sparked consent issues. Actors reported platforms using their performances and likenesses in fully AI projects without permission, while some ads feature sexualized scenes and dialogue never filmed or cleared with performers. Talent manager Maddie Grove said she’s seen platforms breach actors’ contracts four times since June. Writer-actor Tess Dinerstein learned that an AI show adapted her pirate-themed script despite her objections.</p><p><br></p><p>Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood film and tech consultancy <a href="https://www.gliumedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">Ginger Media &amp; Entertainment</a>, a <a href="https://www.gingerliu.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">j</a>ournalist and <a href="https://gingerliu.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">researcher</a> on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/digital-afterlife-hollywood-ai-tech/id1647066879" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">Digital Afterlife: Hollywood &amp; AI Tech</a></p><p><br></p>