Hollywood's AI Dilemma: Public Protests, Private Hiring Spree

Major Hollywood studios are quietly recruiting to build artificial intelligence into their filmmaking pipelines, even as the industry wages public battles and lawsuits against the technology, according to a Los Angeles Times survey.

The survey of hundreds of job postings in late June found that more than one in ten were likely connected to AI, revealing a behind-the-scenes push to develop and integrate generative tools for visual effects, animation, and sound.

What AI Jobs Are Studios Posting?

The job listings suggest a strategic, if quiet, adoption across the major studios.

• Disney is hiring PhD-level talent to study "computer graphics and AI" for Pixar and Disney films, and seeking supervisors at Industrial Light & Magic to explore AI for new production workflows. Its Skywalker Sound unit is recruiting to build proprietary AI models for soundtracks.
• Netflix posted a role for a "Manager, Generative Workflows" to help integrate more AI into its slate of U.S. and Canadian films, promising hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.
• Amazon MGM Studios is searching for a principal AI executive to drive tool adoption across production.
• Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., and Sony had postings focused on using AI for marketing, distribution, and audience analytics.

"There are plenty of studios that are hiring [for AI] but never talk about it in public," said Yoland Yan, a co-founder of ComfyUI, a company that helps studios manage different AI tools.

How Is AI Being Used in Production?

According to the survey, the focus is on augmenting technical and post-production processes, not replacing creative roles. None of the advertised jobs were for creating AI that writes scripts or generates AI actors. Instead, studios are building repeatable AI workflows for visual effects, animation, sound, and dubbing.

Netflix's senior director of creative innovation, Girish Balakrishnan, has outlined how AI was used to create soccer fans in the film "Brazil '70" and to establish shots for fight scenes in "Glory." When launching his AI film tech company InterPositive, Ben Affleck said he wanted to keep "storytelling human" by building AI tools that could fix lighting and generate missing shots while "keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists."

Why the Secrecy?

Companies have been hesitant to detail their use of generative AI, partly due to concerns about consumer and union backlash. The public posture for many, like Disney, has involved pursuing lawsuits against AI companies for inappropriate use of copyrighted material. However, the job postings tell a different story of internal development.

"What you’re seeing in those job postings is that adoption is already happening," said Bryn Mooser, CEO of AI film studio Asteria. Some in Hollywood have described AI use as the new cosmetic surgery—an open secret where everyone knows it's happening, but few admit to it.

A Divided Industry

While studios build their AI capabilities, a vocal contingent of performers and creators continues to resist the technology. This internal conflict unfolds against a backdrop of declining physical production in Los Angeles. A separate report from FilmLA showed a drop in film and TV production shoot days for the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.

Yet, high-profile figures are embracing it. That’s progress. It’s the future."

What Happens Next?

The hiring spree indicates that AI integration is moving from speculative roadmaps to practical, in-house development. The next phase will likely involve these new teams rolling out tested tools across active productions. The tension between this quiet build-out and the industry's public legal battles shows no sign of easing, setting the stage for continued debate over the role of AI in Hollywood's creative future.

Sources

• Los Angeles Times
• FilmLA