Runway Charms Filmmakers; Meta Exec Responds to TikTok Ban

When Marvel used artificial intelligence in the opening title sequence of the television series “Secret Invasion,” last year, it signaled AI had found its way into Hollywood. That didn’t sit well with a lot of people in entertainment. On-strike actors last year attributed some of their grievances to the impact of AI on their jobs. One startup wants to close the gap between Hollywood and AI.

Runway, the text- and image-to-video startup, is highlighting the ways AI can help creators by cutting costs and inspiring content. For the second time in as many years, it’s put on an in-person festival of films made using Runway’s AI or similar tools. The festival brought together a small group of finalists and other filmmakers in Los Angeles last week ahead of a larger gathering and film screening in New York on Thursday.

“We’ve been building Runway for six years now, but the last twelve months have proven to be the most important because the models we’ve been working on have been getting to the hands of millions of users and the quality has gotten really good,” Runway’s cofounder, Cristóbal Valenzuela, told me.