Google, Range Partner with XPrize for $3.5M Sci-Fi Film Competition

While Hollywood still attempts to figure out its own fraught relationship with artificial intelligence and new technologies, a new competition is asking filmmakers to have a positive outlook on the future.

Google and Range Media Partners are partnering with XPrize, the non-profit that hosts competitions for technology-focused projects, for a $3.5 million global competition about sci-fi filmmaking. The competition, run through Google and Range’s 100 Zeros initiative, is designed to inspire “optimistic science fiction storytelling,” according to today’s announcement.

“While cautionary tales have always played a vital role on screen, this competition creates space for a different, equally essential kind of storytelling – one that explores the complex optimism of a world in transition,” said Peter Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of XPrize.

Adds Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPrize, “At XPrize, we believe optimism is a catalyst for innovation. By bringing the best minds together, removing barriers for innovation, and fueling creativity,…