A24, once the cool kid on the block, is now facing severe backlash after announcing earlier this week a research partnership with Google DeepMind that includes a $75M investment to explore AI filmmaking workflows.
While A24 has stressed that the new agreement is strictly a research collaboration—not a production deal—many critics remain unconvinced. The studio should have known that signing the deal would inevitably spark an uproar.
It’s gotten to the point where A24 has now had to release a statement to temper the backlash:
Our relationship with our audience is something we don’t take for granted. This partnership exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, and so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. We’d rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines.
I don’t that “seat at the table” quote is going to go too well with all the betrayed-feeling fans.
Listen, the outrage wouldn’t be as intense if it weren’t for what A24 represents. Over the past decade, the studio has carefully cultivated an identity that has made it one of the most admired and respected movie brands in Hollywood, and many of its younger-skewing fans see inviting AI into its creative process as a total betrayal of that image.
Just look at the social media reactions, some of them especially harsh, with commenters declaring, “A24 just sold its soul,” “AI can and will never make art,” and “NO A24! You were the chosen one!” Others argued that the company now feels like “a wannabe tech company.”
Many of these concerns are based on assumptions rather than the specifics of A24’s AI deal, but there is currently such a deep-seated mistrust surrounding AI’s role in the movies that merely associating with it is enough to turn you into Judas in the eyes of many.
Despite the backlash, A24 will likely continue to thrive, coming off its biggest box office success with “Backrooms” and with major projects like “Elden Ring” on the horizon. Still, although the controversy is unlikely to hurt A24’s ability to attract filmmakers, it may permanently alter how some of its most devoted fans perceive the indie darling.
Mukdeeprom is well known on the arthouse circuit for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Memoria”), and he also shot three Guadagnino movies.