June 26, 2026
MAN AND ROBOTS: A weekly column from MARS Magazine on AI, Hollywood, and the future of work.
🎬 Google’s Big Tech Hollywood Buyout via A24
1. The supposedly coolest film studio in Hollywood, A24, the studio behind the hit horror film Backrooms, is now in bed with Google thanks to a $75 million investment from the search giant. The relationship is framed as focused on “bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and next-generation entertainment,” but pretty much everyone in Hollywood believes the investment is related to AI-generated films due to the fact that Google’s AI unit, DeepMind, is attached to the funding.
“We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them,” said Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, in a statement. “By collaborating with filmmakers and industry leaders like A24 from the beginning, we can build new AI features to support artists in authentic, meaningful storytelling that helps enable their creative vision.”
Shotgun Wedding? A24 generally prides itself on craft and original filmmaking, so pairing with Google to help develop AI-generated films isn’t what most people were expecting from the studio. Perhaps the most surprised was Backrooms director Kane Parsons, who is a very vocal opponent of AI filmmaking. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would,” says Parsons. “Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools.” However, the fact that Parsons is now responsible for A24’s highest-grossing film ever, at $301 million worldwide, didn’t stop the film studio from making the AI deal. That somewhat tracks if you look at the studio’s earlier history with tech investors.
A24 also took $75 million in investment dollars from Thrive Capital (founded by Josh Kushner, brother to Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of President Trump) back in 2024. It’s also worth noting that Thrive Capital is an investor in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which recently went public and made Musk the world’s first trillionaire. So while none of these connections should be automatically used to form some broad determination on the trajectory of A24 as a studio, these connections could have varying implications in the future. For example, some were disturbed by Amazon’s decision to drop the film Artificial, by director Luca Guadagnino, which presents a critical take on Sam Altman’s career, after Amazon secured a deal with OpenAI. It’s now worth wondering if Darren Aronofsky’s film on Elon Musk, currently in development at A24, might suddenly hit unexpected turbulent waters on its way to release.
🤖 Shark Tanker’s AI Prescription
2. To AI companies: “Don’t try to pay famous people to endorse what you are doing. That’s dumb. Talk to artists and ask them what you can do to provide financial and creative support. Every creative I know is TERRIFIED about what AI will do to their profession. You must meet them face to face and basically do what they say. The big LLMs have lost the PR battle. Why? Because they all suck at putting people first. They have a Silicon Valley attitude that makes them all think they are John Galt saving the world.”
–Mark Cuban, tech investor, star of Shark Tank
🎭 Cate Blanchett vs. AI
3. The woman who destroyed Thor’s hammer in Marvel’s Ragnarok as Hela is now also looking to smash the stranglehold AI has on public data. Actress Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings, Don’t Look Up), the co-founder of RSL Media, arrived at the European Parliament this week to announce the official opening of the Human Consent Registry to all users. “Your identity is your IP in the age of AI, and every person deserves the right to decide how AI can or cannot use it,” said Blanchett, with director Steven Soderbergh also in attendance. “RSL Media’s free Human Consent Registry gives everyone a voice and a way to take action on AI permissions, helping to preserve and protect trust across the evolving AI landscape.”
Although the registry isn’t a legally binding effort, it is offered as a new way to publicly affirm one’s stance with regard to one’s likeness being used to train AI systems. During the initial reveal in May, other celebrities voiced their support for the initiative including Helen Mirren (The Queen, Gosford Park), Emma Thompson (Harry Potter, Sense and Sensibility), Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Sex, Lies, and Videotape), Kevin Huvane, the co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and Ron Gubitz, the executive director of the Music Artists Coalition. Additional supporters from the ranks of Hollywood include Tom Hanks, Javier Bardem, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Kristen Stewart, and Viola Davis.
What It Means: The RSL (Really Simple Licensing) registry currently has no legally binding authority. The system is currently a way to publicly declare that “no means no” when it comes to training AI systems on your likeness. The reason Blanchett presented the registry at the European Parliament alongside Bulgarian politician and MEP Eva Maydell is that that is where the EU AI Act was born. Likewise, the European Parliament could also be where the RSL registry will eventually achieve legally binding teeth for any AI company looking to train models on public figures. You can add yourself to the registry now, here.
🎤 Michael Caine’s AI Shadows Christopher Nolan’s Epic
4. “The Odyssey is one of the greatest stories ever told. By bridging classical storytelling with digital innovation, this epic is reimagined for modern audiences through ElevenReader. It was a pleasure to be a part of this retelling.”
–Michael Caine, actor, Batman: The Dark Knight, commenting on ElevenLabs using an AI-generated copy of his voice for a new audiobook version of The Odyssey, which is not formally connected to Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey film being released next month.
🎨 Adobe Swallows Topaz Labs
5. One of the most popular tools for improving the look of images, both traditional and AI-generated, has just been acquired by Adobe. Dallas-based Topaz Labs, which reportedly pulls in roughly $50 million in annual revenue, will become part of the Adobe family later this year, for an undisclosed price, after passing regulatory approvals. “We’ve always believed that technology should serve human creativity rather than replace it, and so has Adobe,” said Eric Yang, CEO of Topaz Labs. “Together, we believe we can dramatically expand what’s possible for filmmakers and creators everywhere.”
The acquisition comes as a bit of a surprise, given the current state of Adobe. The company’s stock is down by nearly 50% compared to this time last year. When the Topaz buy was announced, the stock experienced a brief $6 pop, but quickly fell back to previous levels at the close of the market.
The Sort of Good News: One of the primary issues some creatives have with Adobe is its focus on high yearly subscription payments for software tools that were once buy-once, use-for-life. Predictably, some current users of Topaz, who bought the software thinking they were using a standalone tool without a subscription leash, are freaking out about the new Adobe connection. At least for now, Topaz claims that current users will not necessarily need to buy into the Adobe subscription ecosystem, as the company stated, “Topaz Labs products will remain available as standalone offerings through the company’s website.” Nevertheless, Adobe’s subscription strategy is central to its business, so I wouldn’t expect this status to last into 2027.✍︎
MAN AND ROBOTS is a weekly column from MARS Magazine on AI, Hollywood, and the future of work. All editorial text is written by humans.
Cover image: Photo illustration of Elon Musk in the film ‘Backrooms’ via A24
