Google urges Hollywood to embrace technology

Google is seeking a bigger role in Hollywood through a new partnership with Range Media Partners aimed at changing how technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is portrayed in entertainment.

The partnership, called 100 Zeros, is working on films, TV shows and emerging entertainment formats while also promoting Google’s technology.

One of its early projects, Sweetwater, stars Kyra Sedgwick as an AI hologram of a dead movie star who appears to her grieving son. Google commissioned the short film and provided AI researchers to advise on how the technology could work.

The venture is also producing short, phone-focused series called microdramas, which will begin appearing on Google TV in December. One 30-episode series, Dateable, was created by The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss and follows a woman trying to find love before turning 30.

Google says Hollywood often portrays technology in overly negative or inaccurate ways. Jonathan Zepp, the company's head of entertainment content and platforms, said technology is driving rapid change and that those changes should be portrayed accurately and authentically.

The partnership also gives Google opportunities to promote its products through entertainment. Some 100 Zeros-backed projects feature Google devices, while others incorporate technology into their storylines.

The venture is experimenting with emerging formats, including smart-glasses entertainment using Google's Android XR system. Projects include Nevatars, which allows viewers to interact with AI characters, and Galápagos: The Last Eden, which lets viewers interact with a digital version of Charles Darwin.

However, Google's growing involvement has also raised concerns among filmmakers and audiences about corporate influence and AI's role in filmmaking. Sedgwick, who stars in Sweetwater, acknowledged that Google's involvement was self-serving and said technology companies were trying to portray AI as more human and benevolent.

Still, she said Google's financial resources could help filmmakers continue making traditional films.

100 Zeros is part of Google's broader push into entertainment. The company recently partnered with independent studio A24 to develop AI tools for filmmakers and invested about $75 million in the company, a move that drew criticism from some film enthusiasts.

- MaT