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Pouya Shahbazian, a producer of the Divergent film franchise, has launched Staircase Studios AI, a film, television, and video game production company aiming to use AI to streamline filmmaking and cut costs.
The studio said it already has plans to produce approximately 30 “near-major studio quality” projects over the next three to four years, each with a budget under $500,000.
In a press release today, Staircase Studios AI revealed that it has acquired the rights to nearly 20 scripts and several intellectual properties. Among its first slate of projects are a film adaptation of Wild Night, a novel by New York Times bestselling author Patrick Lee, and a procedural television series from Gabe Rotter, a writer and producer on The X-Files reboot in 2015.
The company also released a teaser showcasing the first five minutes of its debut feature film, The Woman With Red Hair. Directed by Brett Stuart, the film is based on a script by Michael Schatz that appeared on the 2016 Black List, the annual industry survey of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays.
The film also boasts original character designs from Oscar-nominated artist Teddy Newton, a former member of Pixar’s (DIS-3.13%) brain trust who helped design characters for The Incredibles. Additional artwork and designs come from Emmy Award-winning animator Alfred Gimeno, who worked on Kung Fu Panda.
You can see for yourself how the studio’s AI measures up.
“After packaging and selling 150 projects into the studio system over the past 15 years, I’ve borne witness to far too much inefficiency to continue the status quo,” Shahbazian said in a statement. “Over the past year, I’ve dedicated myself to pairing ethical AI usage with our industry’s most underutilized assets —overlooked stories waiting to be produced from fantastic writers and directors.”
Shahbazian is collaborating with Brett Stuart, who serves as the studios’s head of AI filmmaking. The company’s lead investor and partner is Kenneth Lerer, co-founder of The Huffington Post.
According to Staircase, it has developed a proprietary AI-powered workflow called ForwardMotion. The studio emphasizes that it will work with union members in many production departments, including actors, who will be paid industry-standard rates to voice all dialogue.
Staircase isn’t the first movie studio to invest in AI. Last year, Lionsgate (LGF.A-0.21%), the studio behind blockbuster franchises including The Hunger Games, Twilight, and John Wick, announced plans to use generative AI in the production of its films and shows via a new partnership with the AI startup Runway.