Key takeaways Major Hollywood agencies CAA, UTA, and WME have opted their clients out of OpenAI's Sora 2 video generation app over copyright concerns. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin condemned the plat...
The entertainment industry has mobilized a unified defense against OpenAI's latest artificial intelligence tool, with major talent agencies, labor unions, and studio representatives raising alarm over Sora 2's handling of copyrighted material and celebrity likenesses.
The controversy erupted within days of Sora 2's September 30 launch, as social media became flooded with AI-generated videos featuring recognizable characters from South Park, Dune, Rick and Morty, and other copyrighted properties—all created without explicit permission from rightsholders.
Creative Artists Agency issued one of the strongest rebukes, calling Sora 2 a misuse of emerging technology that exposes clients and their intellectual property to significant risk.
The agency, which represents stars including Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks, made clear that protection of creators' rights is non-negotiable.
United Talent Agency characterized the situation even more bluntly, describing Sora 2's use of copyrighted property as exploitation, not innovation. In a statement released Thursday, UTA emphasized that there is no substitute for human talent and pledged to fight tirelessly for client protection.
William Morris Endeavor took immediate action by notifying OpenAI that all WME clients would be opted out of Sora's latest update, regardless of whether intellectual property rightsholders associated with those clients had opted out.
SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland issued a joint statement Thursday condemning OpenAI's approach. The newly elected union president warned that the platform's opt-out copyright model threatens the economic foundation of our entire industry.
In their memo to union members, Astin and Crabtree-Ireland challenged the fundamental premise of OpenAI's system.
If AI companies can shift the burden to rightsholders to opt out, what does copyright really mean? They wrote. Opt-out isn't consent — let alone informed consent.
The union leaders emphasized that no one's creative work, image, likeness, or voice should be used without affirmative, informed consent, calling anything less an unjustifiable violation of rights.
Astin and Crabtree-Ireland also addressed the wider implications, stating that the world must be reminded that what moves us isn't synthetic. It's human.
The Motion Picture Association, representing major studios including Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Amazon, MGM Studios, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery, called on OpenAI to take immediate and decisive action in a Monday statement.
MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin noted that since Sora 2's release, videos that infringe our members' films, shows, and characters have proliferated on OpenAI's service and across social media.
Rivkin emphasized that OpenAI must acknowledge it remains their responsibility – not rightsholders' – to prevent infringement on the Sora 2 service, adding that well-established copyright law safeguards the rights of creators and applies here.
Disney separately sent a letter to OpenAI stating it did not authorize the company to copy, distribute, publicly display or perform any image or video featuring its copyrighted works and characters, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The entertainment giant also made clear it had no obligation to opt out of appearing in Sora to preserve its rights under copyright law.
Following the widespread criticism, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced changes to the platform late Friday night. In a blog post, Altman said the company would give rightsholders more granular control over the generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.
Altman suggested that some rightsholders were excited about this new kind of interactive fan fiction and believed it could create value, though he acknowledged the need for controls over how characters can be used.
The OpenAI chief framed the rollout as a learning process, stating the company would make some good decisions and some missteps as it tries to quickly iterate and improve based on feedback.
The controversy extends beyond copyright issues to fundamental questions about the future of creative work.
Industry observers note that Sora 2 represents a departure from OpenAI's earlier approach with the original Sora, which some thought might have a role in production workflows.
The new version appears focused on social media-style user-generated content rather than professional filmmaking tools.
Bryn Mooser, co-founder of AI studio Asteria, characterized the shift as moving from partnership to extraction, noting that OpenAI doesn't want to build tools to help create but rather wants to use your IP to sell TikTok-like viral memes.
The entertainment industry's response comes after years of anxiety about artificial intelligence's impact on creative professions, which culminated in the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, where AI protections became a central issue.
As legal battles loom, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. have already sued similar AI platform Midjourney.
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