American film studios have united against ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, following the release of the Seedance 2.0 AI model. This technology enables the creation of photorealistic videos that experts say massively use actors' likenesses and copyrighted film characters without owners' consent. The catalyst was a viral video depicting a fake fight between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, which sparked major concern in the film community.

Viral AI clip terrifies the industry

The video featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise has become a symbol of the threat posed by Seedance 2.0 to the credibility of imagery.

Disney takes legal action

The Disney corporation issued a letter calling on ByteDance to cease using characters from Marvel and Star Wars in AI models.

Accusations of mass violations

The Motion Picture Association claims that the Chinese giant trained its AI models on thousands of hours of copyrighted film materials.

The U.S. film industry is on high alert after Chinese conglomerate ByteDance released the latest version of its artificial intelligence model Seedance 2.0. This software can generate high-quality video clips based on short text prompts, immediately sparking a wave of controversy regarding copyright. The most attention-grabbing is a 15-second video featuring digitally generated Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise engaged in a brutal fight against a backdrop of urban ruins. This video, though entirely fake, exhibits a disturbing level of realism, prompting Hollywood representatives to protest strongly against the Chinese technology. In response to the expansion of Seedance 2.0, entertainment giant Disney sent an official cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance. The corporation argues that the AI model unlawfully uses likenesses from the Star Wars and Marvel universes. The Motion Picture Association has also joined the legal battle, accusing the creators of mass-scale violations. Experts and screenwriters like Rhett Reese openly express fears that such advanced technology could mean the end of traditional film production. This situation intensifies the long-standing conflict between Big Tech and the creative sector, which demands strict regulations for generative artificial intelligence. Mass protests in Hollywood in 2023, led by actors' and screenwriters' unions, focused among other things on limiting the use of digital likenesses by film studios.duration of the AI video that terrified all of Hollywood While ByteDance positions itself as a leader in video sector innovation, its actions are now under scrutiny by U.S. regulators and lawyers. Adding to the controversy is the fact that Disney simultaneously collaborates with OpenAI on the legal use of artificial intelligence, suggesting that the industry does not reject the technology itself but seeks full control over its monetization and intellectual property. The battle over Seedance 2.0 could become a precedent defining the future of copyright law in the era of digital reproduction of everything we see on screens. This is probably the end for us.Development of the Seedance 2.0 dispute

Mentioned People

  • Brad Pitt — American actor whose generated likeness was used in the controversial video.
  • Tom Cruise — Action movie star, victim of digital manipulation in the Seedance 2.0 model.
  • Rhett Reese — Screenwriter known for the film Deadpool, who described the new technology as the end of the industry.