A growing number of credited screenwriters are publicly attaching their names to AI-enabled films, a departure from years of quiet experimentation and open skepticism. Promise AI, a Los Angeles startup, has signed Doctor Who director Jamie Magnus Stone and Sharknado producer Micho Rutare to write original projects that will be produced using AI tools, company officials told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stone will write the screenplay for Everything is Within Tolerance, about a hidden bunker where scientists conduct experiments while secretly being experimented upon. Rutare is writing Ninja Punk, an animated movie set in 2065-era Los Angeles centered on ninjas, Yakuza and a supernatural underworld. Both creators will be paired with AI natives: Stone with AI filmmaker Guillaume Hurbault, and Rutare with Promise chief creative officer Dave Clark.
While screenwriters have been cautious, many have experimented with AI for Writers to brainstorm ideas or refine dialogue, but few have publicly committed to full AI-led productions until now. The projects are part of a growing wave of Generative Video production, where AI tools generate moving images from text prompts, storyboards, or other inputs.
Promise executives believe that combining traditional writing talent with AI tools yields stronger results. "People who work on AI films have a mastery that very few people have - you need to learn dozens of tools," said Tyler Mitchell, a former Imagine Entertainment executive who now runs development for Promise. "And a [traditional] writer can bring in all their talent. It really provides a very strong map and aligns everyone creatively."
Rutare acknowledged the tension within the creative community. "In my conversations with fellow screenwriters, there is some fear of the unknown, but there's also a sense of excitement around what opportunities these new tools will unlock," he wrote in an email.
Other projects and funding model
Promise has also paired Clark with Robert Rugan, co-writer of the Marlon Wayans horror-comedy The Curse of Bridge Hollow, on Tuning In, an animated supernatural coming-of-age music film. Clark and AI artist Metapuppet are teaming with newcomer Ivan Rome on Hardcore 94, an animated short series about aliens invading 1994-era Compton. That project is already in production.
Funding for all projects currently comes from Promise, and the films do not require large budgets unless a hybrid model with live-action shooting is used. Mitchell said the company will seek traditional distribution partners, though it remains unclear whether mainstream streamers and exhibitors will embrace AI-generated content.
"Many of the ones we talk to are getting excited because they see their stuff go instantly from the page to the screen. There's something special about that and also helpful about that," Mitchell said.
Why this matters for creatives
The involvement of established writers signals that AI filmmaking is moving beyond tech demos into structured production. For screenwriters, directors, and producers, the shift raises practical questions: how to integrate these tools without losing the human tone and absurdity that defined hits like Sharknado. As Rutare noted, trial-and-error on tone could become less of a gamble when scenes can be generated instead of shot-but the craft of knowing what makes a scene work remains a human judgment. Creatives who learn to collaborate with AI natives early may shape the standards for the next wave of production, while those who sit out risk ceding that influence to technologists.
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