creator

A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 “blatantly” violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission.

Seedance 2.0, which is available only in China for now, lets users generate high-quality AI videos using simple text prompts. The tool quickly gained condemnation from the movie and TV industry.

The Motion Picture Assn. said Seedance 2.0 “has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale.”

“By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs. ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity,” Charles Rivkin, chairman and chief executive of the MPA, said in a statement Tuesday.

Screenwriter Rhett Rheese, who wrote the “Deadpool” movies, said on social media last week that “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.” His post was in response to Irish director Ruairí Robinson’s post of a Seedance 2.0 video that shows AI versions of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Actors union SAG-AFTRA said Friday it “stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement” enabled by Seedance 2.0.

“The infringement includes the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement. “Seedance 2.0 disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent. Responsible AI development demands responsibility, and that is nonexistent here.”

ByteDance said in a statement Sunday that it respects intellectual property rights.

“[We] have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0. We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users,” the company said.

The dispute comes a month after ByteDance finalized a deal to secure TikTok’s future in America. ByteDance agreed to divest majority ownership of U.S. operations to an American-led investor group, averting a shutdown of the hugely popular social media app.

President Trump during his first term sought to ban the platform, citing national security concerns, but he shifted his views after ByteDance agreed to the new joint venture.

The venture now has three managing investors: Silver Lake, Oracle and Emirati investment firm MGX, each holding 15%, with ByteDance retaining 19.9% of investments.

Ortutay writes for the Associated Press. Times Staff writer Cerys Davies contributed to this report.

Before hitting the stage, the comedians of the TV series “Jokes with JoySauce” have an on-camera ritual of exchanging immigrant stories about growing up with their families. There is no audience during these moments, just comics being vulnerable with one another.

The tales give insight into the lives they live offstage and their perspectives as Asian Americans that inspire so much of their material. It lets the audience know more about these up-and-coming comedians without the generic stage introductions.

The series is part of the original program curated for JoySauce, available on Amazon Prime. It premiered in early January as part of the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.

Season 1 of “Jokes with JoySauce” is currently airing as part of the launching programming for the channel. Director and creator of the series Ana Tuazon Parsons is excited to watch it grow.

Narumi Inatsugu, from left, Cat Ce, Ana Tuazon Parsons and Jonathan Sposato at The Times’ office in El Segundo.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“I’m still definitely going for that underground punk rock, like, let’s-find-some-cool-people kind of thing for Season 2,” Parsons said. “Bigger and better venue, and more budget, more budget, please.”

While Parsons focuses on cultivating new comedic voices, JoySauce wants to create its own opportunities for people in the community by broadening its mission of ownership and representation.

“We won’t really get the full spectrum of the representation that I believe that we deserve unless we own the pipeline and the platforms and the carriers and really the gateways,” Jonathan Sposato, creator of Joysauce, said.

He decided to bring the platform to the masses in 2022 after growing sick and tired of how much hate his community was going through and wanting to fill in a gap in the media. Media representation was also low for Asian American actors, with only 6% of all Asian characters in 100 titles on streaming platforms in 2022 in leading roles, according to a study by USC Annenberg Gold House.

“I do think positivity wins,” Sposato said. “Comedy is a very necessary tool, a necessary ingredient in the overall mix of what we’re trying to offer.”

His goal is to broaden the concept of Asian American culture through storytelling that would display what the U.S. has to offer while staying rooted in Asia.

“A win for JoySauce is a win for anybody who feels underrepresented, who doesn’t feel like they’re considered the normative mainstream,” he said.

At a time when attention is a currency, creating a space that’s focused on elevating AAPI voices will help diversify the media landscape.

“A win for JoySauce is a win for anybody who feels underrepresented, who doesn’t feel like they’re considered the normative mainstream,” JoySauce creator Jonathan Sposato, left, said.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“As a comedian, you cannot complain,” Cat Ce, a comedian whose special “Perfect Chinglish” was licensed by JoySauce, said. “Nowadays, you want it on so many different platforms, you never know which kind of audience you may reach.”

Her work reflects the kind of storytelling JoySauce hopes to amplify. The comedy hour by Ce deals with the cultural differences when dealing with family, friends and romantic relationships as a Chinese American. For Narumi Inatsugu, that universality is the point.

As the chief creative officer of JoySauce, Inatsugu wants to create a space where Asian Americans do not feel outnumbered.

“For so long I thought nobody cared about Asian American stories,” he said.

As a curator of the channel, and host of the upcoming “Chopsticks and Chill,” an interview show where he shares a meal with influential members of the AAPI community, Inatsugu wants to create a platform where the younger generation can see the many opportunities life can offer, regardless of your cultural background.

“It’s community building, it’s letting people know they can be whatever they want, do whatever they want,” he said.

Season 1 of “Jokes with JoySauce” is currently airing and is part of the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Throughout his years in the entertainment industry and in production meetings, Inatsugu felt like he couldn’t pitch certain stories because they were aimed at his Asian community. He hopes an outlet like JoySauce can create a safe space for creative minds to feel like they can be themselves and not feel outnumbered, the way he once did.

Everything in the details of a show will make people feel welcomed, from the people making it to the food that’s made available for the cast and crew.

During production of the first season of “Jokes with JoySauce,” Parsons made sure every aspect of the production was AAPI, including the food. Her production team made sure to fill the craft table with food that can be found at any Asian market. The sense of belonging is exactly the reason she built “Jokes with JoySauce” and why JoySauce exists.

“When I’d see the comics come up into the greenroom and their faces, it was like ‘Oh, I feel so like they were just reverted to their childhoods,’” she said. “It was just like they felt like they were at home with their families, and it was so important for me, it made me cry a little bit.”