# Hollywood Scouts Film Schools for AI-Native Talent

_General · published 2026-09-25_

Film schools are emerging as a key pipeline for AI-savvy filmmakers, as studios increasingly look to hire candidates who already know how to work with generative tools rather than retraining internal teams. Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela says studios are asking, "How do we find people who already know how to use this?" Runway's AI filmmaking course, launched in 2024 at NYU's Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, has since expanded to USC, RISD, MIT, Harvard, and universities across Europe and Latin America.

Other major AI labs are pursuing similar efforts. Google offers a residency pairing filmmakers with its AI studio Flow and Google engineers, while OpenAI is also building out creative education programs. Filmmaker and Flow residency alumnus Brad Tangonan put it plainly: "You're going to have to learn how to use these tools if you do want to be in the industry." AI fluency isn't yet a formal prerequisite for film careers, but the institutional momentum suggests that may change soon.

## Sources
- [semafor.com](https://www.semafor.com/article/09/25/2026/hollywood-scouts-film-schools-for-ai-native-talent)
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