Science & Tech · AI · 15 hrs ago
Nolan Says Studios Must Protect Film Copyrights From AI Use
Christopher Nolan says studios must protect films from AI use because they usually own the copyrights, not the directors who made them.
Nolan is president of the Directors Guild of America, which has negotiated protections against AI with the studios.
He says those safeguards are not enough, and studios must enforce copyright protections when AI companies use film material.
The Odyssey includes a warning against using the film as AI training data, a step Nolan says is a first for one of his films.
He argues that companies should not be able to claim fair use when they take creative work and sell AI-generated material based on it.
Nolan expects courts and lawmakers to shape the rules, and says the process will take time.
He says the guild will keep pressing studios to protect creators’ work and the income tied to its use.
Christopher Nolan said film studios must protect copyrighted works from being used to train artificial intelligence models.
The Directors Guild of America is focused on holding studios accountable, Nolan said, because directors generally do not own the copyrights to films they work on.
Nolan praised a warning in the credits of his film The Odyssey saying it cannot be ingested or used as training data.
He argued that companies should not use AI as an excuse to avoid responsibility and said the issue will require litigation and legislation.
Nolan said he believes fair-use arguments for using creative works in this way may not hold up in court.
- Who
- Christopher Nolan, president of the Directors Guild of America.
- What
- He urged studios to protect films from being used as AI training data.
- When
- He discussed the issue on the Hollywood Insiders podcast, reported on November 7 and 8, 2026.
- Where
- The interview was on the Hollywood Insiders podcast. The sources do not state where it was recorded.
- Why
- Nolan said studios generally hold the copyrights to films, while directors do not, and studios must protect those works.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nolan was elected DGA president, according to Deadline, after serving on the guild’s Artificial Intelligence Committee.
Deadline reported Nolan’s comments on the Hollywood Insiders podcast.
TheWrap reported Nolan’s comments on the podcast.
- Film
- The Odyssey
- Guild
- Directors Guild of America (DGA)
- Podcast
- Hollywood Insiders
- Warning
- The Odyssey credits say the film cannot be ingested or used as training data
- Published
- November 7, 2026 (Deadline); November 8, 2026 (TheWrap)
2 sources
What people are saying
We’re very focused at the guild about holding the studios to account for protecting their copyrights. We can’t do that.
It’s down to the studios to do that.
AI is too big a catchall term.
You have to have a voice in how this tool is used moving forward.