AI Netflix vs Paramount Fake Ad Is Making Viral Rounds

For nearly a month now, the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount for the acquisition of Warner Bros. has been a source of extreme anxiety for movie lovers around the world. Four days ago, this war was dramatized using an equally controversial force in the modern film industry: AI. A 74-second-long artificial-intelligence video, featuring visuals that were uncanny in two different senses of the word, has made a big online splash with its depiction of a Super Bowl-esque square-off for the ages.

Our Favorite Characters Vie for the Future – Or Watch the Vying from the Stands

This AI video, which was released by one “Mr. Abu Joe” on YouTube on December 27, depicts an event called the “Streaming Bowl,” which takes place within a stadium with a “WB” logo printed on its field. It is narrated by a sportscaster-like announcer who calls the titular conflict “the battle of the century.”

The opposing teams of contestants consist of impressive AI renderings of iconic characters from the respective properties of Netflix and Paramount. SpongeBob and Patrick lead the charge on Paramount’s side and are backed by (among others) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Michael Corleone. Netflix’s army is led by “Squid Game” protagonist Seong Gi-hun (a.ka. Player 456), and also includes the same show’s giant robotic doll, Young-hee, as well as the Demogorgon from “Stranger Things.”

And Mr. Abu Joe didn’t forget to pay tribute to the subject of the epic clash: Warner Bros. The stadium’s stands are filled with such characters as Harry Potter, Superman, Neo, and the six Friends. Superman would like to get involved in the fray, but Dumbledore immobilizes him with a spell. Rachel Green leans over to Batman and tells him, “You know, I usually go for guys who are into dinosaurs, but I’ve always had a thing for bats,” while Joey Tribbiani addresses Harley Quinn in the coda with his trademark: “Hey. How you doin’?”

Meanwhile, the Joker stands on the sidelines with a whistle in his mouth, ready to referee the grandiose match. The video concludes just as he’s blowing the whistle.

An Even Bigger Real-World Audience

“We are at capacity today here!” the AI video’s announcer enthuses. Of course, the internet doesn’t have much of a limit on its capacity, and the audience seated in the stadium looks puny next to the number of X users who’ve viewed the video since an account by the name of “Angry Tom” shared it on December 28. While the “Streaming Bowl” accumulated some 7,500 views and 69 comments in its first three days on YouTube, it garnered 5.1 million views and 754 comments over two days on X.

Naturally, there are many who deride AI-generated content on principle, and many others who applaud the “Streaming Bowl” as one of the best-looking examples of such content. “Say what you want guys,” opined one YouTube commenter, @flamega, “but even with AI, this takes a hell lot [sic] of effort.”

Mostly Impressive AI Visuals

Considering how many of the characters featured in the video were originally played by real actors (and, in some cases, via photorealistic CGI), it is admirable how well they were rendered in AI. Lee Jung-jae, Al Pacino, young Daniel Radcliffe, and the Joker-faced Heath Ledger look as real as the looming Transformers and the grotesquely flower-headed Demogorgon.

Alas, the two aforementioned quips from the cast of “Friends” betray the project’s uncanny-valley creepiness pretty badly. Whether one wants to scrutinize the dead-eyed expression of Matt LeBlanc’s doppelganger or how imperfectly Rachel Green’s voice mimics that of the real Jennifer Aniston (Joey’s dialogue consists entirely of his famous catchphrase, so his audio probably didn’t have to be AI-generated, and is the better for it), it’s clear that artificial intelligence can’t quite match the expressiveness of real human beings, even if it can replicate their outward features impeccably.

All in all, it’s no mystery why “Streaming Bowl | Netflix vs Paramount” has earned so much online attention. It’s a fascinatingly (and perhaps frighteningly) convincing realization of what modern AI’s generative powers have made possible – and, like many projects of ambitious envelope-pushing, it’s also a reminder of how far its medium has yet to come.