In December 2025, Disney did the unthinkable: they paid OpenAI $1 billion in equity and licensed 200+ characters to Sora, OpenAI's revolutionary text-to-video AI model. This episode unpacks the seismic deal that's reshaping Hollywood's future and transforming how entertainment gets made.

Sam and Mac explore how Sora went from terrifying Hollywood studios to becoming their partner in less than a year. Discover why Bob Iger made this bold move, how Disney Plus is evolving from a passive viewing platform to an active creation platform, and what it means when producers like Tyler Perry pause $800 million studio expansions after seeing what AI can do.

But this revolution comes with a human cost. We examine the darker side of this transformation: 75% of film companies adopting AI have reduced or eliminated jobs, with over 100,000 entertainment jobs potentially disrupted by 2026. Former Disney animators call it "soulless exploitation," while Hollywood directors claim they no longer need Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, just an AI actor and a prompt.

Yet resistance remains. Filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro are drawing battle lines, insisting movies should be "made by humans for humans." As the industry splits between AI-embracing innovators and authenticity-defending traditionalists, audiences face a choice: what are they willing to pay for?

Key topics covered:

• What Sora is and why it hit #1 on the Apple Store immediately after launch

• Disney's $1 billion equity deal and licensing of 200+ characters to OpenAI

• The shift from opt-out to opt-in after backlash over unauthorized character use

• How Disney Plus is becoming a creator platform, not just a viewing platform

• Why OpenAI won the Hollywood partnership race over Runway and Google

• The economic reality: same production quality at one-third the price

• Job displacement across VFX artists, set designers, background actors, and location scouts

• The generational divide: AI-native audiences versus authenticity-seeking traditionalists

• Speed of transformation: from "this is theft" to "$1 billion partnership" in under a year

This episode offers an unflinching look at how AI is disrupting one of the world's most creative industries, examining both the unprecedented opportunities and the very real human consequences of this technological revolution.

TAGS:

OpenAI Sora, Disney AI, Hollywood AI, AI Video Generation, Text-to-Video AI, Entertainment Industry, AI Disruption, Bob Iger, Tyler Perry, Movie Production, VFX AI, AI Actors, Content Creation, Generative AI, Film Industry Future, AI Jobs Impact, Creator Economy, Disney Plus, Animation AI