Tech companies are officially taking over the film and television production business.
Netflix used its streaming technology to transform itself into one of the most dominant studios in the entertainment industry. Apple got into the production world soon after, and while it started slowly, its Apple TV+ service has churned out several big shows including “Severance” and “The Studio.”
It’s even made inroads in the movie business, with a Best Picture winner, “CODA,” and several high-priced, talent-laden films like “Wolfs” with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, and “Fly Me to the Moon” with Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson.
Well, tech companies are known for copying each other and, sure enough, Google apparently now wants into the entertainment industry too.
Per a report from Business Insider, the internet giant has now launched a new initiative to look for film or television projects to fund or even produce. The initiative, which the company named “100 Zeros,” is in conjunction with Range Media Partners, a production company that worked on the recent release of “A Complete Unkown.”
(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Google Could Disrupt Film And TV Production
The new program is, per the report, supposed to be focused on benefiting the company’s efforts around AI. Whether that means using AI to determine which content to make, producing content related to AI, or serving as marketing for its AI efforts is apparently yet to be determined.
Google did not comment on the report, per Reuters.
AI is a controversial topic in the industry, with many entertainment workers concerned about the future of their jobs. One of the most obvious areas of concern is special effects and computer-generated imagery, with AI potentially cutting down production times and negating the need for human CGI artists.
What Google could bring to the table though, is something Hollywood desperately needs right now: money.
The entertainment business has been hammered by years of financial flops, as the industry’s decision to move into political activism has been a disastrous failure. Disney perhaps being the most obvious example.
Even a business as big as the movie business can only lose hundreds of millions of dollars for so long. And if Google wants to engage more in funding movies and shows, it could be a boon for a flailing studio system. As of now, it doesn’t appear that YouTube will be the distribution venue, but could we be seeing yet another subscription streaming service popping up soon? It wouldn’t be too surprising to see a Google+ or Google Max available in the near future.
link