Hollywood Watchdog Slams Seedance 2.0, Deadpool Screenwriter Warns "It's Over," & Runway Raises $315 Million to Reinvent Movies
MAN AND ROBOTS: Weekly signals on how AI and automation are reshaping work & creativity.
FEB. 13, 2026
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1. The Motion Picture Association (MPA), the organization responsible for ratings on major films in the U.S. as well as working with the government to combat movie piracy, has come out against ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 AI video tool. After the Internet got a hold of it and quickly started generating everything from John Wick vs. Batman fights to Thanos vs. Wolverine fights, all with near-perfect likenesses of the actors and almost flawless fight moves, Hollywood was forced to take notice.
In response, Charles Rivkin, the Chairman and CEO of the MPA, released an official statement. “In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale,” said Rivkin. “By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs. ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
Strategic Insight: Releasing AI image and video models that violate well-known IP has become a standard method for companies looking to hype new AI models. OpenAI is the most recent company to do this, only to later restrict Hollywood studio IP from Sora after many complaints. However, ByteDance is based in China, so it’s unclear if this is just the same AI model hype strategy we’ve become accustomed to, or a non-U.S. company setting a new normal, with no consideration of U.S. copyright law.
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2. After the fake Tom Cruise vs. fake Brad Pitt AI video was generated by ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 earlier this week, Hollywood screenwriter Rhett Reese (Deadpool 1 & 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Zombieland 1 & 2) weighed in on social media with a seemingly bleak take, saying, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”
Reese later followed up by envisioning the possible near future of AI in Hollywood. “In next to no time, one person is going to be able to sit at a computer and create a movie indistinguishable from what Hollywood now releases,” wrote Reese. “True, if that person is no good, it will suck. But if that person possesses Christopher Nolan’s talent and taste (and someone like that will rapidly come along), it will be tremendous.”
However, as some on social media began to parse his statement as a passive or possibly pro-AI opinion, Reese followed up to state: “A post to clarify: I am not at all excited about AI encroaching into creative endeavors. To the contrary, I’m terrified. So many people I love are facing the loss of careers they love. I myself am at risk. When I wrote ‘It’s over,’ I didn’t mean it to sound cavalier or flippant. I was blown away by the Pitt v Cruise video because it is so professional. That’s exactly why I’m scared. My glass-half-empty view is that Hollywood is about to be revolutionized/decimated. If you truly think the Pitt v Cruise video is unimpressive slop, you’ve got nothing to worry about. But I’m shook.”
