Hollywood is secretly pursuing a "new space race" to produce the first (mostly) AI blockbuster, with household names like Martin Scorsese and Ben Affleck involved. In 2025, legendary director Martin Scorsese aligned with the German AI company Black Forest Labs to use its technology for pre-production and storyboards. Oscar-winner Ben Affleck invested in AI startup InterPositive, and his company sold its AI tech to Netflix for some $600 million. Bryn Mooser, who has two Academy Award nominations for documentary shorts, compared the effort to the space race, stating, "The space race was about being first, but it was also about inspiring the world that we should keep competing and keep investing [in the technology]." Although completely AI-generated movies have been made, they have so far been low-budget or online-only affairs. Screenwriter and AI software founder David Defendi noted that filmmakers "are scared to admit it publicly, but it is a tool that gives an advantage."