Video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt ‘fighting over Epstein’ scares Hollywood
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt appear to wrestle on a collapsing roof in a viral video arguing about Jeffrey Epstein’s death – but the explosive clip is entirely AI-generated, and industry insiders have said RadarOnline.com it has brought the “fear of God” to Hollywood.
The footage, shot with Seedance 2.0, a new artificial intelligence tool developed by Beijing-based ByteDance, shows hyper-realistic versions of Cruise, 63, and Pitt, 62, locked in a stylized fight scene worthy of a summer blockbuster.
In the clip, the Pitt character shouts, “You killed Jeffrey Epstein, you animal. He was a good man!”
Cruise’s character responds, “He knew too much about our operations in Russia. He had to die – and now you die too,” before forcing Pitt to the ground. The short film was reportedly created from what its creator described as a “two-line prompt.”
Seedance 2.0 can be accessed via ByteDance platforms including Doubao and Dreamina. ByteDance, which also owns TikTok, was forced by lawmakers in Washington last year to transfer its U.S. operations to a joint Chinese- and U.S.-owned subsidiary.
The company has since said it will tighten safety measures after strong backlash from US studios and unions.
Charles Rivkin, president of the Motion Picture Association, warned: “China’s AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in widespread unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works.
“By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is ignoring established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and supports millions of American jobs. ByteDance must immediately cease its infringing activities.”
The Screen Actors Guild itself has issued a warning. A spokesperson said: “The breach involves the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undermines the ability of human talent to make a living.”
Another union source said: “When you can imitate two of the most recognizable faces in the world with a basic job, it sends shockwaves through every contract negotiation in town – and this viral video has done just that, putting the fear of God in many people about the future of their jobs.”
Writers and producers say the speed and sophistication of the technology have heightened fears that AI poses an existential threat to the American film industry.
Rhett Reese, author of the Deadpool films said: “I hate to say it: It’s probably over for us. In no time, one person will be able to sit at a computer and make a movie that will be indistinguishable from what Hollywood is putting out now.”
An executive from a major studio added: “The realism is what’s terrifying. This isn’t a glitchy deepfake – it looks like a completed action scene. That’s what scares people.”
And a visual effects supervisor said, “If this can be done with two lines of text, imagine what happens when someone invests time and money into refining it.”
ByteDance also acknowledged the controversy, as a spokesperson said: “We have heard concerns about Seedance 2.0. We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent unauthorized use of intellectual property and likeness by users.”
Regulators in the US and elsewhere are struggling to keep up with rapid progress in generative AI. Japanese officials have also expressed concern about the sudden increase in manga-style action films on social media generated using the technology.
A film industry source said: “For Hollywood, already struggling with shrinking box office returns and labor disputes, the Cruise-Pitt rooftop battle has become a lightning rod. Not because of its fictional plot, but because it suggests a future where even our industry’s biggest stars can be convincingly conjured without ever having to be on set.”
