Amazon MGM Studios Greenlights Three GenAI Projects
Amazon MGM Studios and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced the GenAI Creators’ Fund and its first greenlit projects. A joint initiative that gives creators of all styles and backgrounds access to professional-grade AI tools and funding, the GenAI Creators’ Fund brings together established filmmakers, digital creators, and technology startups to produce entertainment.
Today, at “AI on the Lot,” Amazon MGM Studios revealed three greenlit animation projects originating from the fund: Cupcake & Friends from BuzzFeed Studios; Love, Diana Music Hunters from creator Albie Hecht, Chief Content Officer at pocket.watch; and Punky Duck from creator Jorge R. Gutierrez. All three series will premiere on Prime Video at a future date.
Powering all of this is Project Nara, Amazon MGM Studios’ purpose-built AI production platform for cinematic storytelling, built on AWS. Project Nara is used exclusively by Amazon MGM Studios and by creators selected for the GenAI Creators’ Fund.
A collaborative production workspace where creative teams can generate video, make edits, provide feedback, and track progress in real time, Project Nara supports both animation and live-action production workflows.
“Creative breakthroughs happen when visionary storytellers are given access to transformative tools,” said Albert Cheng, Head of AI Studios, Amazon MGM Studios. “The GenAI Creators’ Fund and Project Nara position human creativity at the center of our efforts to integrate generative AI into our production processes at Amazon MGM Studios.
“We’re proud of the work that these filmmakers have accomplished and look forward to sharing these creators’ visions with the world.”
THE GREENLIT GENAI PROJECTS
Cupcake & Friends — A relatable cupcake and her friends face the hilarious and thrilling challenges of a sleepover, with unexpected twists at every corner. Created by BuzzFeed Studios.
Love, Diana Music Hunters — Based on pocket.watch creator partner Diana, the most followed girl in the world on YouTube, this young band of K-pop space-traveling musicians races to Planet Goo, where they must perform a concert to restore the music and save the aliens.
Created by Albie Hecht at pocket.watch, former President of Entertainment at Nickelodeon and developer of ”SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Punky Duck — A lovable punk duck and his best friend, Smiley Cat, tear through a wildly exaggerated Los Angeles, hilariously stumbling into alien invasions, giant monsters, robot criminal conspiracies, telenovela-style family drama, and supernatural mayhem—all while trying (and usually failing) to do the right thing.
Created by Emmy-winning Jorge R. Gutierrez, writer/director of the animated feature “The Book of Life” for 20th Century Studios and creator of “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera” for Nickelodeon and “Maya and the Three” for Netflix.WS is building an ecosystem for human creativity powered by AI.”
