Runway, a generative AI company that recently signed its first deal with Lionsgate, will award grants of up to $1 million to filmmakers working on AI-powered projects.
Runway launches The Hundred Film Fund, an initiative to help produce and finance 100 short and feature films that use generative AI technology to tell stories. Runway says grants range from $5,000 to $1 million, and decisions on applications are typically made within 14 days of submission. The company is also offering up to $2 million in credits to use Runway’s gen-AI system. Interested filmmakers can submit an application through this link.
To evaluate proposals for the fund, Runway assembled an advisory board comprised of technology and entertainment leaders. The initial advisors are: Jane Rosenthal, film producer and Tribeca Festival co-founder. Richard Kelis, vice president and general manager of media and entertainment at Nvidia (an investor in Runway); Will.i.am is an artist, actor, producer, and entrepreneur (also a runway investor). Stefan Sonnenfeld is an award-winning film colorist and co-founder and president of post-production company Company 3. and creative producer Christina Lee Storm, founder and CEO of Asher XR.
What’s the problem? Runway co-founder and CEO Chris Valenzuela told Variety that no such thing exists. He said his company is only interested in promoting AI as a new filmmaking tool for both established and emerging creators. “This is not about getting our money back,” he said.
Runway has no ownership rights to any intellectual property created based on the Program. The company won’t be distributing finished products either, but hopes to connect participants with buyers through a panel of advisors. “We are a software company. Our business is to sell tools,” Valenzuela said. “Our success is rooted in our ability to help storytellers make these films.” Runway “strongly advocates the use of our tools” while creating films using other generative AI platforms. He added that the project would also be considered.
“We believe the best stories are yet to be told and traditional funding mechanisms often overlook these new visions,” Valenzuela said. The Hundred Film Fund is a “rolling fund.” This means that the total amount Runway plans to donate under this program is not set in stone.
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am said in an interview that he was a user of Runway’s AI video tools before becoming an investor. (He’s also invested in other artificial intelligence ventures, including OpenAI, Inflection AI, and Anthropic.) For Runway’s Hundred Film Fund, will.i.am says it’s looking for “people who break the mold.” said.
Will.i.am says that by using generative AI, storytellers can “spend more time doing what we love about movies: developing story and character.” This technology also provides a new creative canvas for new kinds of stories. “If you use AI to do exactly what you did yesterday, you are using your imagination in the wrong way. Dreamers will use AI to tell different stories. Sho.”
To those in Hollywood who express skepticism or fear about the role of AI in the creative process, Valenzuela said they should try out the tools available. “Technology and film have always been linked,” he said. “For us, this really represents that new evolution.”
Valenzuela said the Lionsgate deal, Runway’s first major deal with a Hollywood studio, is separate from the Hundred Film Fund. Last week, Lionsgate announced a partnership with Runway to enable filmmakers and other creative talent to use Runway’s tools to generate “cinematic videos.” Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said the studio expects to save “millions of dollars” in production costs and that several filmmakers are “developing new applications to pre- and post-production processes.” I’m already excited about the possibilities.”
The Hundred Film Fund represents a step up from the Runway AI Film Festival, which was founded in 2022 as “a celebration of the arts and artists who are incorporating emerging AI technologies into filmmaking.” In 2023 and 2024, the AI Film Festival will solicit submissions and select 10 finalists, which will be screened at screenings in New York City and Los Angeles, with winners receiving prizes totaling more than $60,000. Ta. This year, Runway partnered with Tribeca Festival to host an AIFF screening and panel discussion in New York.
New York-based Runway was founded in 2018 and has raised about $250 million in funding from investors including Google, Nvidia, and Salesforce Ventures. The company’s last publicly disclosed post-money valuation was $1.5 billion.
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