Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison Views AI as Film's Greatest Creative Shift Since CGI
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison told investors AI could outpace CGI's historical impact by lowering production costs and empowering artists without replacing them.
During Paramount Skydance’s latest earnings call, Chief Executive Officer David Ellison addressed the long-term outlook for artificial intelligence in entertainment, describing the technology as potentially the most significant creative catalyst the industry has ever encountered. In his remarks to investors, Ellison stated that AI holds the promise to serve as the "biggest creative unlock in modern history," suggesting that its eventual influence will surpass even the foundational digital transformations of past decades.
Ellison contextualized this shift by looking back at the arrival of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital composites during the early 1990s. That technological era laid the groundwork for landmark cinematic achievements such as Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. However, when evaluating the broader scope of media production today, Ellison remarked that "it’s hard to imagine" that AI will not have an even more consequential effect on creative output than those early computer graphics breakthroughs.
Managing Film Budgets and Creative Risk
A central argument presented during the call focused on the economics of film production and how rising production costs limit risk-taking. To illustrate the escalating expense of traditional filmmaking, Ellison pointed to the original Terminator, noting that while the movie was made for roughly $4 million at the time, recreating the identical production shot for shot in the present day would demand a budget between $60 million and $70 million.
According to Ellison, emerging AI technologies could alter this financial dynamic. By making overall budgets more manageable, modern production tools could give studios the flexibility needed to finance ambitious, unconventional narratives. Ellison indicated that lowering these cost barriers allows entertainment companies to embrace the level of financial risk required to bring original storytelling to the screen rather than relying solely on safe bets.
In-House Tooling and Hand-Crafted Storytelling
Paramount Skydance is not merely observing these shifts from the sidelines. Ellison confirmed that the company has actively been developing its own specialized AI tools to overhaul internal operations. He highlighted that these custom applications are intended to make media content easier to produce, accelerate project timelines across the entire organization, and fundamentally transform established workplace processes.
Despite the push toward internal automation and software acceleration, Ellison made a clear distinction between technological leverage and human talent. He stated firmly that artificial intelligence is designed as a tool for artists and "will never be a replacement" for human creators. Addressing broader industry concerns regarding an influx of low-quality automated media, Ellison asserted that "in a world of AI slop, we think there will always be a premium for truly hand-crafted storytelling."
Furthermore, Ellison pointed out that as generative media tools spread, the strategic importance of live events and premium intellectual property will increase rather than decline. High-value IP remains uniquely resilient, even as the mechanics of production evolve.
What it means for developers
Ellison’s commentary demonstrates that major media organizations are prioritizing custom software systems rather than waiting for third-party consumer products to solve their pipeline challenges. Paramount Skydance's decision to develop proprietary tools illustrates a growing demand for specialized software that can accelerate workflows, manage digital assets, and assist production teams without discarding human oversight.
For software engineers, this focus signals strong demand for enterprise-grade tooling built around multi-modal language and media models. Technical teams are increasingly tasked with creating orchestration layers that shorten the gap between early creative concepts and final execution. For engineering teams evaluating different model architectures to power automated workflows or assistive media pipelines, platforms like Apixo allow developers to test top AI models cheaply through a single unified API.
Ultimately, as established entertainment studios pursue custom platforms to lower operational expenses, developers who build reliable, artist-oriented tools will find clear opportunities across the modern production pipeline.
Source: David Ellison says AI could be the ‘biggest creative unlock in modern history’ — The Verge AI. Written by the Apixo team from that report.
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