# Lionsgate Vice Chairman Says AI Will Save Millions > Source: > Published: 2026-06-04 19:56:22.537634+00:00 # Lionsgate Vice Chairman Says AI Will Save Millions At the Gabelli Sports & Media Symposium, Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said AI "is going to save us tens and tens of millions of dollars a year," according to Deadline. Burns described AI use cases across film and TV production, from specific shots to previewing and budgeting, and flagged FAST channel curation as another area for savings, per Deadline. Deadline notes Burns called AI "like Moore's law on crack" and mentioned AI firms as "wild-card" acquisition candidates. The article also cites SEC filings showing Lionsgate's film and TV studio business generated more than **$3 billion** in the most recent fiscal year. Deadline reports Burns expects industry stakeholders to develop protections for likenesses and other legal risks. ### What happened Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said at the Gabelli Sports & Media Symposium that AI "is going to save us tens and tens of millions of dollars a year," according to Deadline. Per Deadline, Burns listed AI applications in production including work on specific shots, previewing films, and budgeting, and he cited FAST channel curation as another area of savings. Deadline reports Burns described the pace of AI change as "like Moore's law on crack" and included AI firms among potential "wild-card" buyers of Lionsgate. Deadline also cites SEC filings showing Lionsgate's film and TV studio business generated more than **$3 billion** in the most recent fiscal year. Deadline reports Burns said he expects stakeholders to establish protections for actors' likenesses and related legal frameworks. ### Editorial analysis - technical context Industry reporting has tracked studios experimenting with generative AI for visual effects, previsualization, metadata tagging, and content curation; Deadline frames Lionsgate's comments within that trend. For technical teams, the kinds of production tasks Burns listed-shot-level editing, preview rendering, and budgeting-map to existing generative-visual and automation tools that reduce manual labor in VFX pipelines and content ops. Editorial analysis: Companies deploying those tools typically face integration work around asset provenance, version control, and human-in-the-loop validation. ### Context and significance Editorial analysis: The juxtaposition of a quoted multi-million-dollar savings estimate with Lionsgate's reported **$3 billion** studio revenue highlights why media executives are vocal about AI efficiencies. Deadline also notes ongoing sensitivity among creators: the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA reached contract renewals with the AMPTP in recent months, per Deadline, which reduced near-term strike risk but left unresolved tensions around rights and compensation. Editorial analysis: For the broader ecosystem, public executive estimates increase pressure on legal, rights-management, and tooling standards to address likeness, licensing, and revenue-sharing questions. ### What to watch Observers will watch for published licensing frameworks or collective bargaining language addressing AI use of performers' likenesses, wider adoption of AI-driven previsualization and budgeting tools in studio pipelines, and any disclosures of realized cost savings. Editorial analysis: Practitioners should monitor standards for provenance, watermarking, and audit logs that studios and vendors adopt as those controls will shape integration effort and compliance overhead. ## Scoring Rationale Executive-level cost estimates highlight commercial momentum for AI in media production but offer no technical release or standards. The story is relevant to engineers and legal teams integrating AI into pipelines, yet it is primarily commentary rather than a technical milestone. Practice with real Streaming & Media data 90 SQL & Python problems · 15 industry datasets [Active Users in Target CountriesEasy](/problems/sql/active-users-in-target-countries-streaming) [High-Rated Titles with ReviewsMedium](/problems/sql/high-rated-titles-with-reviews) [User Churn Risk AssessmentHard](/problems/sql/user-churn-risk-assessment) 250 free problems · No credit card [See all Streaming & Media problems](/problems/datasets/streaming)