22 August 2026

Hollywood writers and directors train AI systems on their own craft for survival pay

• Award-winning screenwriters, directors and producers in Los Angeles are taking hourly gig work teaching AI models to replicate their skills, earning $12 to $200 per hour from training firms with contracts to Anthropic and OpenAI.
• Motion picture industry jobs have collapsed: shoot days in LA fell 48% between 2021 and 2025, and US employment in film and sound recording dropped 28% from 450,000 to 326,000 between July 2022 and May 2026.
• Creatives train AI on specific tasks like screenplay writing, production scheduling with permits and hazards, pitch deck assembly and video transcription, then evaluate the AI's attempts at work they would normally perform themselves.
• Some participants describe the work as emotionally difficult, with one comparing it to digging their profession's grave, though others see potential benefits if AI augments rather than replaces human creativity.
• Netflix reported using AI in 300 of its 1,000 titles in 2026, and some younger filmmakers have successfully used AI-generated content to fund projects that traditional studios would not finance.

Reported by The Guardian