Hollywood paused in 2023: actors and writers, represented by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, united in picket lines during a historic twofold strike lasting over months. The protection against the massive encroachment that artificial intelligence (AI) can drive forward in filmmaking was at the heart of the demands. Fears were rampant: AI could take jobs, generate likenesses without consent, and strip the very essence of storytelling from human hands. Fast-forward to 2025, the storyline has jumped tides. AI, the demon it used to be, has become the darling flesh of many an Oscar-winning film, seamlessly intertwined with the fabric of creativity. This prompts a challenging question: Has AI graduated from being an enemy to a friend, or is it the quiet before a massive storm?
The Hollywood Strikes: AI as the Villain:
The 2023 strikes turned out to be a significant turning point for the entertainment industry. The actors were afraid that the studios could use AI to develop "digital twins"- virtual copies of the performers who could act endlessly without a paycheck and approval-. The writers are worried about being replaced by generative AI that can churn out complete scripts, putting human creativity on hold, and reducing a livelihood to nothing but a mere prompt. The stakes were high and the rhetoric was fierce. The president of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher, said this was a fight for the "soul of the industry," and the Writers Guild quickly brought down their gauntlets demanding "safeguards against AI-generated content."
After months of bargaining, landmark agreements were being struck by both unions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Actors won protections ensuring that consent and compensation were given for the use of their digital counterparts, and the writers received assurances that AI cannot solely take credit for scripts. Both sides heralded these victories as a bulwark against technology becoming the overbearing master. Yet with the picket signs being taken down, AI never did leave Hollywood; it just changed.
The Turnaround: AI in the Spotlight at the 2025 Oscars:
At the 97th Academy Awards in March 2025, the most unexpected turn came from AI, which once was hostile in the past but has now become a partner in some of the most glorious works of the year. It is indeed amazing to use AI in the first place, but to win the Oscars, one thing is required: Both films, The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez, sneakily add into their techniques the beautiful live human performance to prove the capability of AI to complement human arts instead of replacing it.
The Brutalist: Fine-Tuning Authenticity:
The Brutalist is a period drama directed by Brady Corbet that has received several awards, including Best Actor for Adrien Brody. Set in 1947, the film follows the plight of a Hungarian Jewish architect as he works his way through America in the days following World War II. For the sake of accurate Hungarian dialogue, the production team brought in Respeecher, AI voice technology of the highest calibre, that altered Brody’s accent by sharpening some of the vowels and consonants so that it was phonetically correct yet left Adrien’s English-language performance intact. Corbet explained that AI was a surgical enhancement and nothing more: "Adrien's performance is entirely his own."
The result? A seamless interaction between human skill and technical accuracy that critics and audiences extolled alike. Brody’s Oscar win for the film stressed that AI-enhanced performances, rather than tampered with, were a long way from fears of digital doubles that prevailed during the strike.
Emilia Perez: Expanding Vocal Horizons:
Emilia Pérez was a musical thriller waged by none other than the illustrious Jacques Audiard, which scored a leading 13 nominations, taking home many awards - one being for Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña. It tells about a cartel leader who pretended to die, with Karla Sofía Gascón playing the title role. She is a trans woman who could not sing properly because of the effects of her transition on her vocal range. Here comes Respeecher again to clone her voice and mix it with that of French singer Camille to get the really necessary registers of voice. It is not Gascón against AI; it is Gascón enhanced and protected, and the art contribution of Gascón is intact concerning the musical demands of the film.
Saldaña's acceptance speech was yet another milestone, she said, "I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award." The win, along with the film itself, serves as a testimony to the possibility that AI can share spaces with much more diverse human storytelling, rather than overshadowing it.
AI's Broader Footprint:
While The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez stole the limelight, other 2025 candidates such as A Complete Unknown, also leaned on AI. In this Bob Dylan biopic, AI subtly altered stunt doubles' faces to look similar to Timothée Chalamet, a technique Searchlight Pictures described as "very commonplace" in visual effects. Although it did not leave with the prize, the use of AI in the film highlighted its increasing standardization in Hollywood.
On the other hand, AI is broadening its tentacles everywhere. Early in 2025, at a Los Angeles film festival, the debut of Sora, a tool developed by OpenAI for the generation of video from text prompts, gave much credence to the possibilities for the future. In a statement made by Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo, the $400 million investment in artificial intelligence filmmaking tools showed a blockbuster-sized commitment to the technology.
The Debate: Tool or Threat?
On the contrary, criticism against artificial Intelligence has continued despite its Oscar-night success. Was the job displacement or ethical consideration the overriding concern of these 2023 strikes? So background artists, deemed “most vulnerable” by ChatGPT, still fear being phased out by digital extras. The writers wait in dread that the studios will exploit AI, taking away their jobs regardless of any union protection. The Academy is also struggling for transparency regarding the 2026 Oscars and may mandate the disclosure of any AI works.
The supporters hold that AI democratizes filmmaking. Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Moonvalley, which develops AI tools like Marey, calls it "inevitable" and "clean" when done with artist consent. He sees a world in which indie filmmakers create epics for a pittance and put the big studios back in their place.
However, these developments do not clarify the legal issues. The tech companies such as Google and OpenAI seek to assert "fair use" of copyrighted materials for training AI against Hollywood, representing an opposition to 2.3 million jobs. An open letter signed by 400 A-listers in 2025, under the leadership of Natasha Lyonne, called the Trump administration to protect these industries with the warning that otherwise, unregulated AI could potentially erode America's cultural dominance.
The transformation of AI from being vilified in Hollywood to adored by Oscar winners is a story of adaptability. This technology proved its worth as a precision tool in The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez, enhancing realism and extending creative options. But some of its other implications are still up for grabs: economic, ethical, and artistic. Will AI be a tool for filmmakers or for the erosion of art? Will it be great new tools for creativity or usher in a dystopia of automation?
One thing is clear with the clock striking 2025; AI isn’t leaving the stage. Hollywood must begin penning the next act to strike a balance of technology's promise with the human heart that has always been its magic. The embrace of AI by the Academy is the real drama waiting to unfold.