The Success of South Park and the Potential for Breakthrough Movies

In this episode of “The Ben & Marc Show”, a16z’s co-founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen take on the most hot-button issue in Hollywood: artificial intelligence.  Over the past few months, the topic of AI technology has pushed the entire industry into unknown territory.  Screenwriters fear they’ll no longer be needed, while actors believe they’ll be replaced altogether. But is it possible AI can actually level the playing field and create new opportunities for all artists?

In this two-part conversation based on YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter), Marc and Ben examine the evolving business models of the film and television industries,  as well as explore how writers, directors and actors can soon use AI technology to unleash their creative potential in ways they never thought possible.  In fact, AI’s future in Hollywood may not be as dystopian as some of our favorite films have led us to believe.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

* Episode Note: This conversation was recorded in two parts.  Part one took place before the WGA and AMPTP reached an agreement. Topics Covered:

Watch the video version here:  https://youtu.be/KFboZkwHjsU?si=QrIbhRVfqXVDtFq5 

Resources:

Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca

Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/

Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz

“Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need” by Blake Snyde: 

https://amzn.to/3EYsBj3

Films mentioned on this episode:

- “Monsters of Man” (Amazon Prime): https://amzn.to/3tf7CWV

- “Tenet” (Amazon Prime): https://amzn.to/46aI8bE

- "Reservoir Dogs” (Netflix): https://bit.ly/48zbQbM

- “Buy Bust” (Netflix): https://bit.ly/3LHcmuw  [**Marc’s recommendation**

TV Series mentioned on this episode:

- “Fauda” (Netflix): https://bit.ly/3roB9wN

- “Squid Game” (Netflix): https://bit.ly/3LGOreK

- “Mad Men” (Amazon Prime): http://bit.ly/3LM2srB

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Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/