Why AI can’t crack Hollywood’s biggest marketing challenge: human-centeredness

IndieWire entertainment journalist Dana Harris-Bridson argues that artificial intelligence faces a fundamental barrier in Hollywood: it cannot create the human backstories that drive audience engagement and marketing campaigns. While AI can reduce production costs and increase output, the entertainment industry’s reliance on behind-the-scenes narratives—from director interviews to production drama—represents a creative wall that current AI technology cannot overcome.

The big picture: Hollywood’s marketing machine depends heavily on human stories behind the content, with studios spending billions on campaigns that center around creators’ personal journeys and production experiences.

• Marketing costs often match production budgets, sometimes reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, all focused on conveying “This is who I am and why I made this, and that is why you should see it.”
• Awards campaigns are built entirely around creation stories, with strategists sometimes launching counter-narratives to challenge competing backstories.
• Even production drama—creative differences, reshoots, star conflicts—becomes valuable marketing material that captures human attention.

Why this matters: The entertainment industry’s fundamental business model relies on selling not just the final product, but the human experience of creating it.

• Harris-Bridson notes that studios “spend billions to make sure you know everything there is to know about what went into making their movies and TV shows.”
• The author cites expertise from Ethan Helvering at Pulsar, an audience intelligence firm, and Milo Chao at 100% Human, who emphasize that “our connection to creativity is rooted in humanity.”

The AI challenge: When the first fully AI-generated feature film arrives, studios will face an unprecedented marketing dilemma with no human creators to promote.

• Film and TV publicists currently manage complex logistics around endless junkets, press appearances, and creator interviews—all of which disappear with AI-generated content.
• The second AI film will face even greater challenges without the first-mover advantage, leaving studios with only “a creator and a team of software engineers” to promote.

What they’re saying: Harris-Bridson acknowledges AI’s transformative potential while highlighting its limitations.

• “Technology exists to reduce friction, whether it’s renting a house, calling a car, buying a washer, or creating a blockbuster’s explosion,” she writes.
• “AI promises to smooth everything that’s messy about filmmaking: costs, egos, creative clashes. Awesome — only without conflict, there is no story.”
• She concludes with measured uncertainty: “I haven’t seen ChatGPT-5.”

The broader context: The analysis comes amid rapid AI developments, including the recent launch of the ChatGPT browser and anticipated release of ChatGPT-5 before summer’s end.

• Harris-Bridson expresses “zero faith in Hollywood’s ability (or inclination) to ‘control'” AI adoption, predicting the industry will pursue cost reduction and increased output “until it hits a wall.”
• The piece suggests that while AI can handle technical production aspects, it cannot replicate the “frustrating, expensive, and chaotic collaboration” that generates compelling marketing narratives.