Getting on the AI train at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival
At this year’s Monte-Carlo TV Festival, the Business Content program featured a panel titled That’s (AI)Entertainment!, where industry leaders gathered to dissect the transformative—and often controversial—role of artificial intelligence in the creation, development, and distribution of film and television content.
Moderated by Michel Zgarka, President & CEO of HITLAB, the discussion brought together three diverse voices in the global entertainment landscape: Vanessa Shapiro (CEO, Nicely Entertainment), Toma de Matteis (Managing Director of Fiction, France.tv Studio), and Leif Holst Jensen (Dean of Film, TV and Games at INN University, Norway). Together, they unpacked AI’s evolving impact from budgetary concerns to philosophical and legal dilemmas—and didn’t shy away from the thornier issues such as copyright infringement and job displacement.
Moderated by Michel Zgarka, President & CEO of HITLAB, the discussion brought together three diverse voices in the global entertainment landscape: Vanessa Shapiro (CEO, Nicely Entertainment), Toma de Matteis (Managing Director of Fiction, France.tv Studio), and Leif Holst Jensen (Dean of Film, TV and Games at INN University, Norway). Together, they unpacked AI’s evolving impact from budgetary concerns to philosophical and legal dilemmas—and didn’t shy away from the thornier issues such as copyright infringement and job displacement.
The panel opened with a pointed question from Zgarka: “Is AI an add-on, an evil, or simply a tool?”
For Vanessa Shapiro, the answer was straightforward: “For me, it's definitely a tool.” As the head of a production company focused on TV movies and series, often with modest budgets, Shapiro explained that AI is now integrated into “every single stage,” from development to physical production. It’s a cost-saving mechanism, particularly in post-production and visual effects: “Even though there's a love-hate relationship now in Hollywood with AI, we're trying to find the right balance.”
Toma de Matteis echoed the sentiment but added nuance, noting how AI has become instrumental in preserving both quality and human employment: “Actually, since I use it and we use it for a lot of VFX, we hired people. It allowed us to do more… So probably at some point, we'll see a shift… But there will still be people making those movies.”
Leif Holst Jensen, bringing an academic and philosophical lens, called the transition “a big challenge to our industry.” He warned: “I think our industry is far too expensive… AI will totally interfere [with] our value chain… We need to unlearn how we have been training and working in the industry to be able to adapt to new ways to work.”
A recurring theme was how AI is redefining—but not replacing—human creativity. Shapiro described using AI as a kind of creative partner in brainstorming sessions: “It's like becoming an assistant, like another person in the room… sometimes now my staff is using it. Again, I don't have the reflex.”
De Matteis, however, highlighted that despite AI’s impressive generation abilities, its outputs are still lacking that vital spark: “Right now, we're still a bit short… Most of the time, it lacks something.” The value, he stressed, is in how humans guide the tools—not the other way around.
Leif warned against treating AI tools as turnkey creativity: “It is easier for AI to learn and to unlearn than for us as human beings… We have emotions related to what we know. So our competence is something that we hold on to.”
No conversation about AI in media today would be complete without discussing its legal implications. When an audience member referenced a lawsuit filed by Disney and Universal against an AI firm for using their IP, Shapiro quipped: “The good news is we're not Disney or big studios, so there's really no money to go after.”
Yet both Shapiro and De Matteis took the issue seriously. “Sometimes it will look so much like something else… or you want to take the risk and not see what you're having in front of you, or you are smart and use your brain,” De Matteis warned. “The tool is not supposed to do your job. You're supposed to be doing it.”
To minimize risk, Shapiro revealed they conduct script clearance even before filming: “Very often we have to change names of characters… One of our movies last year… the name we used was actually a well-known porn star, and we had no idea.”
In a particularly illuminating segment near the panel’s end, Shapiro introduced an often overlooked application of AI: digital product placement. “After the movie is shot, we give the rights to a U.S. broadcaster to actually put product placement afterwards,” she explained. “So let’s say people [are] having dinner… they’re going to put a known brand of soda on the table after the fact.” This post-production monetization strategy is contractually embedded and increasingly common in U.S. broadcast deals—an example of how AI is not only reducing costs but also opening new commercial opportunities.
Asked what future media professionals should be learning, Jensen was reflective: “To be honest, I don’t know… We need to reflect on it together.” But one point was clear: education must evolve beyond traditional media knowledge into adaptability, artistic integration, and strategic AI usage.
De Matteis was adamant: “They should learn to make movies… We’re more looking into an art form than into a technical form.” He emphasized the need to combine technical know-how with storytelling sensibility: “Your job is to challenge [AI-generated shots] together.”
Despite concerns about synthetic actors, legal grey areas, and energy consumption, the panel concluded with optimism tempered by realism. De Matteis suggested that AI could “enhance our capacity to understand each other,” by enabling seamless language and cultural adaptations in global storytelling. In Shapiro’s words, AI is not a passing trend: “It’s here to stay. So get used to it. Get on the AI train. It’s not gonna stop. Just have to embrace it.”
It seems AI will not write the future of film and TV—but it will co-write it - it is important for the human voice to be the one telling the story.
For Vanessa Shapiro, the answer was straightforward: “For me, it's definitely a tool.” As the head of a production company focused on TV movies and series, often with modest budgets, Shapiro explained that AI is now integrated into “every single stage,” from development to physical production. It’s a cost-saving mechanism, particularly in post-production and visual effects: “Even though there's a love-hate relationship now in Hollywood with AI, we're trying to find the right balance.”
Toma de Matteis echoed the sentiment but added nuance, noting how AI has become instrumental in preserving both quality and human employment: “Actually, since I use it and we use it for a lot of VFX, we hired people. It allowed us to do more… So probably at some point, we'll see a shift… But there will still be people making those movies.”
Leif Holst Jensen, bringing an academic and philosophical lens, called the transition “a big challenge to our industry.” He warned: “I think our industry is far too expensive… AI will totally interfere [with] our value chain… We need to unlearn how we have been training and working in the industry to be able to adapt to new ways to work.”
A recurring theme was how AI is redefining—but not replacing—human creativity. Shapiro described using AI as a kind of creative partner in brainstorming sessions: “It's like becoming an assistant, like another person in the room… sometimes now my staff is using it. Again, I don't have the reflex.”
De Matteis, however, highlighted that despite AI’s impressive generation abilities, its outputs are still lacking that vital spark: “Right now, we're still a bit short… Most of the time, it lacks something.” The value, he stressed, is in how humans guide the tools—not the other way around.
Leif warned against treating AI tools as turnkey creativity: “It is easier for AI to learn and to unlearn than for us as human beings… We have emotions related to what we know. So our competence is something that we hold on to.”
No conversation about AI in media today would be complete without discussing its legal implications. When an audience member referenced a lawsuit filed by Disney and Universal against an AI firm for using their IP, Shapiro quipped: “The good news is we're not Disney or big studios, so there's really no money to go after.”
Yet both Shapiro and De Matteis took the issue seriously. “Sometimes it will look so much like something else… or you want to take the risk and not see what you're having in front of you, or you are smart and use your brain,” De Matteis warned. “The tool is not supposed to do your job. You're supposed to be doing it.”
To minimize risk, Shapiro revealed they conduct script clearance even before filming: “Very often we have to change names of characters… One of our movies last year… the name we used was actually a well-known porn star, and we had no idea.”
In a particularly illuminating segment near the panel’s end, Shapiro introduced an often overlooked application of AI: digital product placement. “After the movie is shot, we give the rights to a U.S. broadcaster to actually put product placement afterwards,” she explained. “So let’s say people [are] having dinner… they’re going to put a known brand of soda on the table after the fact.” This post-production monetization strategy is contractually embedded and increasingly common in U.S. broadcast deals—an example of how AI is not only reducing costs but also opening new commercial opportunities.
Asked what future media professionals should be learning, Jensen was reflective: “To be honest, I don’t know… We need to reflect on it together.” But one point was clear: education must evolve beyond traditional media knowledge into adaptability, artistic integration, and strategic AI usage.
De Matteis was adamant: “They should learn to make movies… We’re more looking into an art form than into a technical form.” He emphasized the need to combine technical know-how with storytelling sensibility: “Your job is to challenge [AI-generated shots] together.”
Despite concerns about synthetic actors, legal grey areas, and energy consumption, the panel concluded with optimism tempered by realism. De Matteis suggested that AI could “enhance our capacity to understand each other,” by enabling seamless language and cultural adaptations in global storytelling. In Shapiro’s words, AI is not a passing trend: “It’s here to stay. So get used to it. Get on the AI train. It’s not gonna stop. Just have to embrace it.”
It seems AI will not write the future of film and TV—but it will co-write it - it is important for the human voice to be the one telling the story.
