Feature filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s production company, Primordial Soup, is partnering with Google DeepMind to develop short films using artificial intelligence video tools, part of a broader industry push to integrate generative technology into the filmmaking process.
The deal gives three filmmakers early access to DeepMind’s AI video model, Veo, which generates high-quality video from text prompts. The remaining two filmmakers involved in the project have not yet been announced.
“Ancestra,” the first short from the collaboration, is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 13. Directed by Eliza McNitt and executive produced by Mr. Aronofsky, the film merges real-world footage with AI-generated imagery from the vastness of space to the tiniest particles.
“With ’Ancestra,’ I was able to visualize the unseen, transforming family archives, emotions and science into a cinematic experience,” Ms. McNitt said in a statement.
Primordial Soup has said Google’s AI tools helped with “practical challenges,” such as filming scenes with infants and visualizing abstract concepts like the birth of the universe, according to multiple reports.
The “Black Swan” director, who has long incorporated cutting-edge technology in his work, called AI a natural continuation of film’s ongoing technological evolution.
“Filmmaking has always been driven by technology,” Mr. Aronofsky said, the Los Angeles Times reported. “Now is the moment to explore these new tools and shape them for the future of storytelling.”
Google dropped the news at its I/O developer conference last week in Mountain View, California.
Meanwhile, some sectors of Hollywood are deeply concerned over AI, with writers and artists warning that the technology threatens jobs and intellectual property. Unions are pushing for guardrails, and some are calling for legal action over AI models trained on copyrighted material without approval.
Tech firms, however, are pitching AI as a creative partner — not a replacement — saying it can speed up workflows and lower production costs.
And Google is leaning in, positioning its tools as part of a long game to embed AI into the foundation of content creation. Alongside Veo, the company introduced Flow, a new filmmaking tool that helps users create cinematic shots and assemble scenes.
Google’s AI tools are available via subscriptions priced from $19.99 a month up to $249.99 for early access to cutting-edge features.
“This opens up a whole new world of possibilities,” said Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, per The LA Times. “We’re excited for how our models are helping power new tools for creativity.”
The new partnership follows similar moves across the industry: Meta is working with director James Cameron’s Lightstorm Vision on VR content, and AI startup Runway has partnered with Lionsgate to integrate AI into pre-production workflows.
