Hollywood writers, directors and producers are taking AI-training contracts that pay $12 to $200 an hour to teach models tasks including screenplay writing, production scheduling, pitch-deck creation and video transcription. Training agencies including Mercor, Micro1 and Handshake hold contracts with major AI companies including Anthropic and OpenAI. Micro1 recently advertised production-expert roles paying up to $85 an hour for designing evaluation tasks involving budgets, schedules, vendors and crew coordination. The work has expanded as entertainment employment and production have fallen. FilmLA Research reported that Los Angeles shoot days dropped 48% between 2021 and 2025. US motion-picture and sound-recording employment declined from 450,000 jobs in July 2022 to 326,000 in May 2026, a 28% decrease, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Netflix said it used AI in 300 of its 1,000 titles in 2026. Some workers say the contracts provide essential income while potentially helping automate their professions. Screenwriter Jody Wheeler said AI can generate ideas but is unlikely to produce Oscar-winning scripts soon. An unnamed television writer who evaluates AI-generated scripts, podcasts, novels and lectures said the systems have improved but remain unable to approximate human emotion or nuance. Younger filmmakers are also using AI to create projects that might not otherwise receive funding; Zack London, known as Gossip Goblin, plans to release an AI-produced feature film in cinemas later in 2026.