CineMe goes live to turn a script into film predevelopment

CineMe, a visual development platform for film and television, went live on October 1, 2026, promising to turn a script into photo-realistic images and video and then carry the project through budgeting, scheduling and financing.

It was founded by the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Dan Hartley, whose documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived was nominated for both, and Chris Bird, the former managing director of Prime Video UK. Broadcast reported that they added Julia Stuart, former director of original film at Sky and now international film strategy lead at Studio TF1, to the advisory board, and committed 5% of the company to a charitable trust.

The pitch is pre-production rather than the finished shot. CineMe says it builds storyboards, previsualisation and pitch decks strong enough to secure financing, attract cast and align the creative and production teams, working in a single workspace shared by the producer, director, production designer, cinematographer, locations, costume and VFX departments. The company describes three layers: Rogue Runner to develop the project, CineMe to enrich it, and CineArk to fulfil it.

It arrived out of beta with a set of unnamed but high-profile productions already on board, and the company now says demand has exceeded its expectations. Access is by request while it works through a waitlist, with self-serve sign-up promised but not yet open. CineMe sells access in a range of subscription tiers and has published no prices.

The tool sits in a crowded week: Synthesia launched Sessions for interactive avatars, Runway launched an advertising agent, and ElevenLabs shipped a new voice model, all within days. CineMe's difference is that it is aimed at the point before a frame is shot, where a pitch deck decides whether a film happens at all.

CineMe is taking access requests now and says self-serve access is on the way.