How Hollywood’s youngest filmmakers are exposing Gen Z’s real problem with AI

The class of 2026 made their feelings about AI clear before they even picked up their diplomas. Graduates at the University of Central Florida and the University of Arizona booed speakers mid-sentence for invoking AI, a reaction to being told by the people building the technology and disrupting the job market they were about to enter, to trust the process. Gen Z leads global adoption of generative AI tools.

And yet they trust AI less than any other age cohort in the US — 14 points below Millennials — and are entering a labor market where only 43% of 18-to-29-year-olds say it’s a good time to find a job, down from 75% in 2022 (Gallup). Fluent in the tools, skeptical of who controls them, and clear-eyed about what’s at stake when over-used overused. Two industries in particular — Hollywood and the creator economy — are exposing these fault lines.

The Creators Who Bypassed the System This spring, three filmmakers reshaped Hollywood’s understanding of where cultural power comes from. Curry Barker, 26, directed Obsession on a budget of $750,000 — built from years of YouTube sketch comedy and a found-footage horror film made for $800 and released for free. Obsession has since crossed $300 million worldwide, becoming Focus Features’ highest-grossing release of all time.

Markiplier self-funded and self-distributed Iron Lung to over 3,000 screens with virtually no traditional marketing spend, grossing over $40 million in its first month against a budget of around $4 million. Kane Parsons, 20, adapted an internet urban legend into Backrooms for A24, making him the youngest filmmaker ever to open a movie at number one in North America, with the film grossing over $270 million worldwide. All three came up through the internet and bypassed the traditional studio pipeline.

All three built loyal audiences before they built careers through iterative, low-budget, community-facing work. When asked what Hollywood should take away from Obsession, Barker’s answer was direct: “They let m