Google- and Disney-Backed AI Studio Promise Films Horror Movie Using Synthetic Performers and Generative Backgrounds

Promise, a new AI film studio backed by Google, Disney, and Silicon Valley venture capital, is producing AI-enabled features from a modest Los Angeles base, using generative models to create backgrounds, special effects, and synthetic performers. Its first announced project, the horror film *Touch the Grass*, pairs a live actor with real-time AI-generated environments — including a scene where the backdrop was produced by Chinese model Seedance 2.5 — cutting production time and cost dramatically compared to traditional methods.

The studio is part of a broader shift in Hollywood: Netflix recently stated it used AI in 300 of its 1,000 titles in 2026, director Ron Howard is developing an AI-assisted animated documentary through studio Obsidian, and Brad Pitt publicly argued that AI could be "the very thing" that helps mid-budget films in the $40m–$90m range get made. The trend draws sharp opposition from directors including Christopher Nolan and Guillermo del Toro, as well as labor advocates warning of large-scale job displacement for writers, actors, and crew.