George Clooney is no stranger to the spotlight. But this week, the Oscar-winning actor and long-time political activist stepped into a different kind of battle: the accelerating arms race between Hollywood and artificial intelligence. And he didn’t mince words.
In an interview with Variety, Clooney issued a pointed warning about the rapid rise of generative AI—particularly OpenAI’s newest marvel, Sora 2. The text-to-video platform made headlines last month when shockingly realistic, user-generated clips began flooding the internet.
One viral example featured none other than Pikachu charging into the gritty chaos of Saving Private Ryan, seamlessly inserted into Steven Spielberg’s iconic World War II drama. It was impressive, eerie, and for Clooney, downright terrifying.
“The thing that really rattled Hollywood in general was the Sora 2 stuff,” Clooney said. “That shook everybody because suddenly the quality was much better and it’s scary.”
The actor’s concern goes beyond mere aesthetics or job displacement. For Clooney, the issue is personal—and dangerous. “There’s been some really actually awful ones where they’ve done and said things that I’ve never done and said and put me out there,” he explained. “It’s dangerous for your family. It’s dangerous. It’s complicated, but the genie is out of the bottle and I’m not quite sure what we’re gonna do.”
My favorite new trend in the Sora app is putting Pikachu in every movie.
This is “Saving Private Pikachu” 👇 pic.twitter.com/pV8JYUb9SZ
— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) October 1, 2025
Clooney’s unease echoes the sentiments of many in an industry grappling with an identity crisis. With AI tools now capable of generating lifelike performances, stitching together dialogue, and creating new scenes out of thin air, the foundational question of what makes a star—or even a human contribution—valuable, has come under fire.
Still, Clooney isn’t entirely dismissing the potential, even as he warns of the risks. “You know, AI is gonna have the same problem that we have in Hollywood,” he said. “Which is making a star is not so easy. You can’t really describe what makes someone a star… It’s something unusual and it’s hard to detect. They’ll have the same problems that we have.”
His comments come as studios and creatives walk a fine line. Some, like Lionsgate, have plunged headfirst into AI partnerships—collaborating with Runway to develop custom models. Meanwhile, maverick creators like South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone are openly investing in AI for their own projects.
