Yesterday, I posted about AI as the Bicycle of the Mind, suggesting that AI could be democratizing, particularly for lower budget filmmakers: “AI tools have the potential to unlock more creativity for countless filmmakers who aren’t named Spielberg or Lucas.”
Today, I saw the The Atlantic article, Tilly Norwood Is Not Ready for Its Closeup (October 25, 2025). Sharon Waxman’s conclusion is that AI isn’t ready…yet.
But ultimately, as Tilly Norwood demonstrated and insiders affirmed, the AI models available just aren’t Hollywood-caliber—yet. “Hollywood studios have a very, very high bar of technical quality that AI currently doesn’t get. But it will,” Weintrob said.
Netflix, however, seems to be committed to expediting the improvement of AI quality:
This month, Netflix announced that it is merging its visual-effects studio, Scanline, with its research lab, Eyeline, to expedite its own AI-led efforts. The race to get ahead goes on.
But I think the most interesting part is Waxman’s conversation with low-budget producers:
Producers—mainly of low-budget films rather than major studio productions—told me that the technology is helping them reduce their spending on visual effects.