- A24 has reportedly faced backlash for using AI-generated images to promote “Civil War.”
- One image was clearly intended to show an iconic Chicago building in a nonsensical location.
- Some may wonder why A24 would use AI, given how controversial it is in the film industry.
Civil War, film industry darling A24's most expensive film to date, was a dismal failure at the box office in its opening weekend, but some of the images used to promote the film immediately sparked a fierce backlash. Encountered.
The $50 million film follows a group of journalists in the near future as the United States descends into a full-scale civil war. The film topped the box office on its opening weekend, selling an estimated $25.7 million in tickets in North America. This number also includes me, who watched the movie on Sunday.
Days after its successful release, A24 posted a series of images on Instagram promoting the film, which quickly faced outrage over its apparent use of AI.
An anonymous source close to the film told The Hollywood Reporter that the image was generated by AI. A24 did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
At first swipe of the image, it looked like it was showing destroyed, war-torn locations across America, but you might not notice anything out of the ordinary—if you're like me, of course. It's a different story if you're from Chicago, in which case you probably laughed out loud like I did, but when you got to the fifth slide, you cried out.
This image shows the iconic Marina City Tower. These are his two buildings built in the 1960s, adjacent to each other and spanning almost an entire city block on the north side of the Chicago River. Even if you're not from Chicago, you may recognize its distinctive appearance, famous for its resemblance to corn on the cob, a popular Midwest dish. (They also appeared on the cover of his popular 2002 indie album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by the Chicago-based band Wilco.)
The images shared by A24 will certainly be exciting — one of the towers is on fire — if you can get past the fact that the Chicago River is somehow now flowing between the two buildings, ie. An island that no longer exists which means one of the towers now appears to be sitting on top of it.
Theoretically, there could come a day when the landscape of downtown Chicago would be radically and absurdly altered, the river would split to form this island, and one of its towers would be relocated. But, uh, what?
And it wasn't just aspects of the image that raised eyebrows. In one image, soldiers on a boat near Los Angeles appear to be pointing guns at a giant swan. Perhaps the Swan is intended as a pedal boat, like the ones you can rent on Echo Park Lake? It certainly doesn't look like that. Furthermore, if you zoom in, the soldier at the back of the boat is completely missing his legs, and his upper body appears to be floating in the air.
Another image, believed to be from Miami, shows a car that appears to have three doors. And in an image clearly intended for New York City's Washington Square Park, the historic arch now appears to have a road running between it and the rest of the park. It has also been pointed out that other AIs may fail within the image.
The backlash in comments was swift, with some criticizing A24 for allegedly using AI-generated art. “Why do you keep posting these stupid AI posters? Hire a real artist,” said one comment with more than 6,000 likes.
“A24 using AI in advertising could be a sign, it could be the beginning of the end for a company that relied on indie aesthetics,” said one comment about the company, which received more than 3,000 likes. , some independent films that made a name for themselves were also accessible. “It's incredibly disappointing.”
Sources close to the film who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter said the AI-generated images are intended to convey the potential impact of the fictional civil war.
“These are AI images inspired by movies,” a source told the outlet. “The whole movie is a big 'what if', so we wanted to continue that idea with powerful images of iconic landmarks with social and dystopian realism.”
Some commenters questioned the wisdom of A24 using AI, given concerns about AI expressed during last year's film industry strike and another recent controversy over a film.
Promotions for the horror comedy “Late Night with the Devil” have been stalled by complaints that the filmmakers used AI. The directors said they worked with the graphics and design team to use AI on three still images, which were then further edited to appear briefly in the film.
Beyond its use of AI, Civil War's marketing has also been controversial, with some criticizing it as misleading. For example, none of the scenes depicted in the controversial advertising images appear in the film.
When I saw this movie, it wasn't quite what I expected, partly because of the marketing, but I still loved it.
But a big reason I loved this movie was that it all felt horrifyingly plausible. It felt like I was watching a place I knew so well be torn apart. The result is deeply disturbing, which I imagine is the reaction the filmmakers were hoping for.
The images posted by A24 don't do justice to that sentiment, or the movie they're supposed to be promoting.