Volume Three
TropFest AI Controversy & Deepfake Wars
The Lowdown is a monthly newsletter curated by the team at The Producers, designed to outline the most significant shifts within the global AI landscape. As creative production evolves, we believe in radical transparency and constant exploration. Each volume of The Lowdown deconstructs the latest advancements in generative video, AI-driven workflows, and emerging technologies, providing actionable insights for the modern production industry. Whether we are testing new scene generation models or refining AI asset integration, The Lowdown ensures our partners and collaborators stay at the leading edge of what is possible in film and commercial craft.
Welcome
February 2026 coverage of the first AI finalist at TropFest, the Tom Cruise vs Brad Pitt deepfake controversy, and Razer’s holographic AI assistant, Project AVA. Here’s everything you should care about, regarding AI, in February 2026. We saw the first public booing of an AI film in Sydney, a “fight" between two Hollywood icons that panicked the industry, and a gaming company that wants to put a holographic friend on your desk.
The Audience
Alongside the torrential rain at Sydney’s Centennial Park for TropFest 2026, was the audience’s reaction to one of the finalist films called Syd Confidential. The film entry was 100% AI-generated, the first film to be submitted to TropFest/make it into the festival showcase since its inception. The audience (and the internet) tore it apart, mostly because the ‘AI Detective’ narrator was grumbling about Sydney while standing in front of a tram clearly labeled "SYDHEY."
It’s the perfect example for the type of awkward tension the industry is facing. While Tropfest audiences were booing, the Global AI Film Award in Dubai just handed Tunisian filmmaker Zoubeir ElJlassi a $1 million check for his AI film Lily. This comparison really proves that AI ‘art’ is perceived vastly differently for two industries; the ‘Tech World’ is ready to award million-dollar prizes for this technology, treating it as the future. Whereas the ‘Audience World,’ still sees it very differently. It makes us wonder where the technology will lead, and whether it will solely exist/remain celebrated strictly within tech circles.
The Controversies
A hyper-realistic video of Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt on a rooftop went viral across social media in early Feb. It wasn't real, of course, it was a demo for Seedance 2.0, the new video model from ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company). It looked so real that Rhett Reese (writer of Deadpool) tweeted, "It’s likely over for us." And Disney didn't find it funny. They reportedly fired off a massive Cease & Desist to ByteDance.
Another spicy controversy in the AI world happened during the Superbowl. OpenAI recently announced they are going to start putting targeted ads inside ChatGPT. Anthropic (the makers of Claude, and OpenAI's biggest rival) decided to use the Super Bowl to be incredibly petty about it. They ran a series of national commercials mocking OpenAI, featuring a ripped AI chatbot trying to sell ‘insoles for short kings’ to a user asking for workout advice. The tagline was very cheeky: "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude."
Sam Altman threw a fit on X, calling the ads "dishonest" and firing back that Anthropic just builds "an expensive product for rich people." It’s billionaire tech-bro drama playing out on the biggest advertising stage in the world.
The Tech
Finally, for the "cool but slightly dystopian" section, Razer (the gaming laptop crew) is still chipping away on Project AVA, a 5.5-inch transparent cylinder that sits on your desk and projects a 3D holographic avatar. Unlike Siri, who is a disembodied voice, AVA has "eyes" (cameras) that watch your screen. It can see you’re struggling in a game and offer coaching, or see you’re stressed and suggest a break. It’s being marketed as a "Friend for Life" that learns your personality. Is it a helpful assistant? Probably. Is having a small anime girl in a jar watching you work a little weird? Absolutely.
The Producers © 2026
As one of the best production houses in Australia, The Producers combines world-class cinematic craft with cutting-edge technology. Based in Melbourne, our production company represents a diverse roster of award-winning directors, delivering high-impact commercial film and production facilitation services for global brands.