John Semper Jr.

@runwayml mammoth

Go from a single image to an entire film, ad or piece of content using our new Story Panels Featured Workflow. This Workflow allows you to build a catalogue of shots with consistent characters, locations and style all in a few simple steps. Comment "Mammoth" for the in-depth tutorial and link to featured Workflow.

@jpalmiotti I agree with you 100%.

Unpopular opinion : whether we like it or not, AI isn’t going away. It’s a tool and nothing more, and like any tool, its impact depends entirely on the hands that wield it. A hammer can build a home or smash a window; the hammer isn’t the issue really. When it comes to comic books, I’ll be blunt: I don’t want AI-generated art replacing human creativity at all. Not now, not ever. Comics are a medium built on the quirks, flaws, experiments, failures and brilliance of real artists, and I’d prefer it stay that way. But as a tool for marketing, promotion, or boosting visibility? Sure. In that lane, it can actually be useful. Filmmaking is trickier. If AI helps creators build worlds or tell stories they could never afford to realize otherwise, that’s hard to dismiss but i think it has to be a lot more nuanced. More controlled and lines have to be drawn. More voices, more perspectives, more opportunities—that’s not a bad thing though. CGI has been here a while and is everywhere and it's not always better still. I think film still needs that human touch but again, using AI as a tool , well, thats happening as we speak. Music follows a similar pattern. I’m not thrilled about AI-generated songs, but let’s be honest: the moment Auto‑Tune went mainstream, technology became a permanent collaborator in the creative process. That door isn’t closing. At the end of the day, real artists adapt. They experiment. They push boundaries. They’ve survived every technological shift thrown at them so far, and they’ll survive this one too. AI isn’t going anywhere, and unless meaningful regulation steps in, it’s going to keep weaving itself into every creative field. The real challenge now is figuring out how we want it to coexist with human imagination. Anyway, Just one person thinking out loud, probably overthinking as usual since I have downtime between books-and as usual, I could be wrong, and I’m sure plenty of people will tell me so—hopefully kindly. This is just an opinion, nothing more.

@PeterAttiaMD Your being hired at CBS is some indication of what a craphouse that network has become under Bari Weiss. It will be another network like Fox that will be filled with losers, liars and criminals.

The following email is what I sent my team last night. I sent a similar version to my patients, also. *** You’ve put your trust, your credibility, and your hard work into what we have built together, and I take that responsibility seriously. You deserve a complete and honest account of what did and did not happen. I apologize that I did not get this out sooner, but I want to be thorough. The purpose of the DOJ releasing these documents is clear: to identify individuals who participated in criminal activity, enabled it, or witnessed it. I am not in any of those categories, and there is no evidence to the contrary. To be clear: 1. I was not involved in any criminal activity. 2. My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone. 3. I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties. That said, I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it. *** I want to start by directly addressing the email thread that I’ve been asked about the most. In June 2015, I sent Epstein an email with the subject line “Got a fresh shipment.” The email contained a photograph of bottles of metformin, a medication I had just received from the pharmacy for my own use. The subject line referred to the picture of the bottles of medication. He replied with the words “me too” and attached a photograph of an adult woman. I responded with crude, tasteless banter. Reading that exchange now is very embarrassing, and I will not defend it. I’m ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful. At that point in my career, I had little exposure to prominent people, and that level of access was novel to me. Everything about him seemed excessive and exclusive, including the fact that he lived in the largest home in all of Manhattan, owned a Boeing 727, and hosted parties with the most powerful and prominent leaders in business and politics. I treated that access as something to be quiet about rather than discussed freely with others. One line in that exchange, about his life being outrageous and me not being able to tell anyone, is being interpreted as awareness of wrongdoing. That is not how I meant it at all. What I was referring to, poorly and flippantly, was the discretion commanded by those social and professional circles–the idea that you don’t talk about who you meet, the dinners you attend and the power and influence of the people in those settings. What I wrote in that email reads terribly, and I own that. *** I met Epstein in 2014 through a prominent female healthcare leader while I was raising funds for scientific research. At that time, he was widely known in academic and philanthropic circles as a funder of science and moved openly among credible institutions and public figures. Between summer 2014 and spring 2019, I met with him on approximately seven or eight occasions at his New York City home, regarding research studies and to meet others he introduced me to. I never visited his island or ranch, and I never flew on any of his planes. When I was at his home, it was either meeting with him directly, meeting with small groups of scientists, doctors, or business leaders, and once at a dinner in 2015 with a number of guests including prominent heads of state. In retrospect, the presence and credibility of such venerable people in different orbits led me to make assumptions about him that clouded my judgment in ways it shouldn’t have. I was not his doctor, though several times I answered general medical questions and recommended other providers to him. Shortly after we met, I asked him directly about his 2008 conviction. He characterized it as prostitution-related charges. In 2018, I came to learn this was grossly minimized (more on this below). I was incredibly naïve to believe him. I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment. To be clear, I never witnessed illegal behavior and never saw anyone who appeared underage in his presence. *** In November 2018 I read the Miami Herald investigative article. I was repulsed by what I learned. Nauseated. It marked a clear and irreversible line between what I knew before and what I understood afterward. At that point, I told him directly he needed to accept responsibility for what he did. Hoping to provide the victims from the Herald piece with support, I contacted a residential trauma facility to understand what funding comprehensive care for many victims would require. (Those communications were between me and the facility and were therefore not part of the document release.) I spoke with him and shared that information and insisted that he fund their care, beginning with residential treatment and followed by lifelong therapy. In hindsight, even attempting to facilitate accountability was a mistake and once again reflected just how naïve I was at the time. Once the full scope of his actions was clear, disengagement should have been the only appropriate response. My intent does not change that, and I regret not drawing that boundary immediately. *** Nothing in this letter is meant to minimize the harm suffered by the young women Epstein abused. Their trauma is permanent. I am not asking for a pass from you. I am not asking anyone to ignore the emails or pretend they aren’t ugly. They simply are. The man I am today, roughly ten years later, would not write them and would not associate with Epstein at all. Whatever growth I’ve had over the past decade does not erase the emails I wrote then. I recognize that my actions and words have consequences for the people I care deeply about, including all of you. I regret the cost this has placed on you, and I take responsibility for it. I won’t ask anyone to defend me or explain this on my behalf. If you have questions or concerns, I’ll address them directly with you, my team.

I woke up this morning to the fantastic news that my new show, WEATHER HUNTERS, has been NOMINATED FOR AN NAACP IMAGE AWARD for BEST ANIMATED SERIES! And now YOU get to vote for it! If you enjoy our series, please go to the following link and cast your vote. I and the the entire WEATHER HUNTERS Team will be greatly appreciative! naacpimageawards.judge.live/categories/4f9…

Happy Birthday (December 28th) to my very good friend, the late, great STAN LEE! I was hand-picked by Stan to head up the writing of the SPIDER-MAN animated series of the nineties, an honor for which I will always be eternally grateful.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the legendary DICK VAN DYKE, who turns 100 today and is just as spry and active as ever! Incredible!

@DiscussingFilm @SiteJamesons Hey, I created The Spider-Verse. I feel your pain.

Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli says she does not get any royalties from the ‘SPIDER-VERSE’ films, Insomniac games, or merch “I don’t get anything… that's the saddest part of my life” (via: @SiteJamesons)

"Christmas in Africa" - Story by Carin Greenberg and John Semper (me), written by Joelle Selner. Merry Christmas! pbskids.org/videos/watch/c…

@kinetix_ai Character motion & camera control

Kamo-1 is officially live in Open Beta and it pushes AI video into a new vertical: control. Most models chase fidelity. Kamo-1 focuses on performance control & direction. • Act out a motion → get the full-body performance • Choose camera trajectory → get real cinematography Check it out: kinetix.tech Comment “Character motion & camera control” in the first 24 hours to get 300 credits!

@endthehiding @BostonGlobe youtube.com/shorts/9qivXHd…

@endthehiding youtube.com/shorts/9qivXHd…

Our two day celebration of SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES' 30th ANNIVERSARY at LA Comic Con was a huge success. Saturday, I moderated a panel featuring our wonderful voice actors: GARY IMHOFF ("Harry Osborn" and "The Green Goblin"), CHRISTOPHER DANIEL BARNES ("Spider-Man"), SARATOGA BALLANTINE ("Mary Jane Watson") RODNEY SAULBERRY ("Joe Robbie Robertson") and PATRICK LABYORTEAUX ("Flash Thompson"). Not only are they amazingly talented, but I'm proud to know them all as friends. The crowd loved them and a great time was had by all! I even took everybody on a journey back in time as I screened for the first time ever excerpts from my personal Hi-8mm home videos of our actual recording sessions from back in the day!

While you were all snuggly in bed, I was up early this morning to pick up THIRTEEN badges for the LA Comic Con this weekend at the LA Convention Center in downtown LA. I'm moderating two panels this weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both pertain to my SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES' 30TH ANNIVERSARY. One panel celebrates the Spidey voice actors (including Spider-Man himself, CHRIS BARNES) and the other is spotlighting the writers. The badges are for my panelists. In real life, I don't ever throw parties, so this is the closest I come to hosting an event - which is fun for me, because the convention people handle all the annoying particulars - like renting the hall and managing the crowds! And I rely on Facebook and social media to handle the invitations. So, you're ALL INVITED to come to my party and celebrate SPIDER-MAN:TAS with me at the LA COMIC CON, Saturday and Sunday at 12 NOON, in room 403A. Excelsior!

TODAY is the PREMIERE on PBS of my new animated series, WEATHER HUNTERS, created by AL ROKER! I was an Executive Producer, the Head Writer, and I wrote the pilot and about a zillion other episodes!

Building is no longer the bottleneck, you can vibe code your idea over a weekend. So it’s all about distribution. And distribution today=video. Use this challenge to learn how to vibe create video. And walk away with $25K.

🚀 OpenArt x MiniMax Story Weeks is LIVE! From Aug 25 – Sep 7, unleash unlimited creativity with MiniMax Hailuo 02 on OpenArt: ✨ Free video Story & credits for everyone ✨ Upgrade for 2 weeks of unlimited video generations ✨ $15,000 in prizes across 5 contest categories: 🎵 Best Music Video 🎨 Best Explainer Video 😼 Best Character Story 🎬 Best Story Using Storyboard ⭐ Most Viral 📅 Winners announced: Sept 12, 2025 👉 How to enter: -Create your video with OpenArt x Hailuo 02 -Post it on X with #OpenArtMiniMaxStoryWeeks -Tag @openart_ai + @Hailuo_AI Submission form and full contest details in the thread 👇 This is your stage. Let’s see your best stories!

@alaskatundraman @TimHannan

This is going exactly according to plan. The goal all along was to force companies to build in America. If it means we pay extra initially until we don’t, that’s fine. Cause once business stops making profit, they have to pivot production to get revenue rolling again. And that means production will come back to America to cut costs, thereby creating more jobs and creating better prices cause goods will be made in America again. This in turn results in cheaper goods eventually, which also increases economic spending. NET Results: 1. Companies make in America again, 2. America collects profit off Tarrifs from foreign made goods, 3. Additional jobs are created, and finally 4. Economy is improved due to additional economic spending on American goods.

We fucking told you.

I'm so sorry to learn that the beautiful actress, LONI ANDERSON (“WKRP in Cincinnati”) has died, just days before her 80th birthday. RIP to the wonderful LONI ANDERSON.