AI-generated video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting sparks Hollywood uproar
Director Laurie Robinson created a video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting using ByteDance's Seeance 2.0 AI model from a two-sentence prompt. The Motion Picture Association and SAG-AFTRA alleged the AI system used copyrighted works and actors' likenesses without authorization, sparking Hollywood concerns about job displacement.
What happened
On 13 February 2026, director Laurie Robinson posted a 15-second video on social media showing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a building rooftop. The video was created using ByteDance's Seeance 2.0 AI video model from a two-sentence prompt.
The Motion Picture Association stated that Seeance 2.0 used copyrighted works without authorization in a single day. SAG-AFTRA said the video involved unauthorized use of members' likenesses and voices, and weakened human actors' ability to earn a living.
Reported impact
Hollywood screenwriter Rett Russ stated 'our era seems to be finished,' predicting that soon someone at a computer could create works indistinguishable from current Hollywood output, particularly if that person possessed talents comparable to Christopher Nolan.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.