400+ Hollywood Filmmakers Fight Back Against AI Copyright Rules

By far and away, the most important topic in the film and video industry has been—and will continue to be—artificial intelligence. AI is revolutionizing how we create, consume, and interact with content, and its disruption of all industries isn’t slowing down; it’s speeding up.

However, just because AI is here to stay doesn’t mean that it can’t be done ethically or on terms that are supportive and agreeable to the artists who have built up these industries. Last week we covered the launch of Marey, a clean and ethically trained AI video model started by Asteria and Moonvalley.

We’ve also seen legacy brands like Adobe make updates to its terms of service to not train AI on user content without their consent. All positive steps towards a fair and equitable future for AI in the film and video industry.

Yet, despite these efforts, major AI companies are pushing for unfettered access to AI training data, citing national security concerns, and spurring a coalition of Hollywood filmmakers and creatives to band together to make their voices heard in opposition.

Hollywood's Response to the Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan

In an open letter that has been sent to the White House, over 400 Hollywood filmmakers, directors, actors, musicians, and other below-the-line professionals and creatives, have signed a proposal asking that copyright law be upheld for AI and tech companies looking to access and train AI.

This letter comes at a crucial time as the current Trump administration is planning to release an “AI Action Plan” this summer that aims to settle copyright debates for AI training. The concern is that the plan will declare that AI training is fair use and pave the way for AI companies to receive unfettered access to training data.

Google and OpenAI are both actively pursuing this unfettered access citing national security concerns, claiming that such access is critical to defeat China in the ongoing AI arms race. However, the translations of what these tech giants are pushing for certainly raise concerns beyond national security, and towards violating the copyrights of filmmakers, artists, and creatives around the world.

Copyright Protection Guardrails Against OpenAI

As mentioned above, there are examples of companies and creatives fighting the good fight to support clean AI models trained ethically and on closed systems and not on copyrighted materials. AI studio Asteria, co-founded by Natasha Lyonne along with Bryn Mooser and featuring filmmakers and AI artists like Paul Trillo as strategic partners, is one such company leading the charge and co-signing on the letter.

The full “Copyright Protection Guardrails Against OpenAI” letter is copied below and includes the signatures of Hollywood filmmakers and industry creatives like Guillermo del Toro, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ava Duvernay, Ben Stiller, Taika Waititi, Lily Gladstone, Rian Johnson, and hundreds more—along with, we’re proud to add, the name of No Film School founder and CEO Ryan Koo.

You can read the full text of the open letter below, as well as view its signatories here.

"We, the members of America's entertainment industry — representing an intersection of cinematographers, directors, producers, actors, writers, studios, production companies, musicians, composers, costume, sound & production designers, editors, gaffers, union and Academy Members, and other industrious, creative content professionals – submit this unified statement in response to the Administration's request for input on the AI Action Plan.

We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries. America’s arts and entertainment industry supports over 2.3M American jobs with over $229Bn in wages annually, while providing the foundation for American democratic influence and soft power abroad. But AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.

Make no mistake: this issue goes well beyond the entertainment industry, as the right to train AI on all copyright-protected content impacts all of America’s knowledge industries. When tech and AI companies demand unfettered access to all data and information, they’re not just threatening movies, books, and music, but the work of all writers, publishers, photographers, scientists, architects, engineers, designers, doctors, software developers, and all other professionals who work with computers and generate intellectual property. These professions are the core of how we discover, learn, and share knowledge as a society and as a nation. This issue is not just about AI leadership or about economics and individual rights, but about America’s continued leadership in creating and owning valuable intellectual property in every field.

It is clear that Google (valued at $2Tn) and OpenAI (valued at over $157Bn) are arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds. There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped America flourish. Not when AI companies can use our copyrighted material by simply doing what the law requires: negotiating appropriate licenses with copyright holders — just as every other industry does. Access to America’s creative catalog of films, writing, video content, and music is not a matter of national security. They do not require a government-mandated exemption from existing U.S. copyright law.

America didn’t become a global cultural powerhouse by accident. Our success stems directly from our fundamental respect for IP and copyright that rewards creative risk-taking by talented and hardworking Americans from every state and territory. For nearly 250 years, U.S. copyright law has balanced creator’s rights with the needs of the public, creating the world's most vibrant creative economy. We recommend that the American AI Action Plan uphold existing copyright frameworks to maintain the strength of America’s creative and knowledge industries, as well as American cultural influence abroad."