For horror fans, Late nights spent with the devil It was one of the most anticipated releases of the year. His found footage production, starring David Dastmalchian, which employed analog film filters, drew praise for its top-notch production design, reminiscent of a 70s grindhouse aesthetic. dawn of the dead or death race 2000. After the late-night talk show host aired a Halloween special in 1977, the show had all the makings of a cult hit.
However, the film may be better remembered for the controversy over its use of cutout graphics created by generative artificial intelligence tools. In particular, images of dancing skeletons infuriated some theatergoers. The film faced the possibility of a boycott in the run-up to its theatrical release in March, but that did not materialize.
The film's directors, Cameron and Colin Cairns, defended the use of AI, explaining that the art was modified by humans. They said in a statement: “We experimented with AI on three still images, which were further edited and ultimately displayed as very short interstitials within the film.” Ta.
Less than a month later, five images appeared to be generated by AI that teased A24's apocalyptic scenes. civil war It sparked similar outrage from some fans. There were some clear signs that the graphics were created by AI and showed a failure of ground-breaking accuracy and consistency. His two Chicago Marina Tower buildings on one poster are on opposite sides of the river. In another photo, a shot of the wreckage shows a car with three doors.
In contrast, readers of A24's Instagram posts, late night “It was more than enough to make it clear to everyone that we don't want this.”
But in the entertainment industry, a Pandora’s box of AI may have already been unleashed. Behind closed doors, most departments of production, from the writer's room to his VFX department, are implementing generative AI tools. For every project that has faced headwinds for using AI in some part of its production pipeline, there are dozens more that have quietly adopted the technology.
“There are a lot of people using AI, but they can't admit it publicly because a lot of the work requires artists and they work against you,” VFX says industry veteran David Stolipinis.worked on Avatar, man of steel And Marvel titles. “Right now, it's more of a PR issue than a technical one.”
“Everyone is using AI, both producers and screenwriters, but they're afraid to admit it publicly,” says the French screenwriter and author of a custom-made project designed for film and TV screenwriters. David Defendi, founder of the AI software system Genario, agrees. “But it's being used because it's a tool that gives you an advantage. If you don't use it, it's going to be a disadvantage to the people who are using AI.”
One of the reasons for the backlash against the use of AI is that late night and civil war That could be the precedent it seems to have set. Even with the hiring and commissioning of concept and graphic artists, the production costs were negligible. If a company is willing to replace such peripheral tasks with AI, the following are possible cases: late night and civil war, a job that could have been accomplished by anyone on the production design team — what position will be next? Writer? VFX artist?
“Most writers who have tried AI find that it's not a very good writer,” says the Writers Guild and Union group, which represents more than 8,000 writers in 25 countries. David Kavanagh, executive director of the Federation of Writers of Europe (FSE), said: “So we don't think it will replace us yet, but the impact on other areas of the industry could be very damaging.” One example of this is areas such as children's animation and melodramas, where there are many “repetitions of similar situations with the same characters''.
The replacement of Hollywood's workforce by lower-level workers is likely contributing to the use of AI being accepted and seen as beyond common sense. Much of the discussion surrounding this issue is filtered through the lens of Hollywood's historic double strike last year. Utilization of AI tools civil war and late night That means the artist has missed out on work.
Some sectors of the industry are already on the verge of extinction. “European dubbing and subtitle employment is over,” Kavanagh said, pointing to AI technology that can use versions of the original actor's performance or create lip-synced dubs in multiple languages. “It's difficult to see how they will survive this situation.”
At Cannes on Saturday, indie production and distribution company XYZ Films will be screening AI-translated trailers for international films, including a Scandinavian sci-fi feature. UFO Swedena French comedy thriller Vincent Must Die Korean action hit smuggler, introduces TrueSync dubbing technology from Los Angeles-based company Flawless. Flores and XYZ are pitching the technology as an opportunity to cheaply produce high-quality, English-dubbed versions of hit international films that will make them more appealing to a global market. Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions plan expansion UFO Sweden It was released worldwide in what they are calling the first major theatrical release of a film fully translated using AI.
meanwhile, president putin, a new political biopic by Polish director Besarir, which is being sold to international buyers at Cannes, uses AI technology to create the image of Vladimir Putin on the body of an actor with a similar physique to the Russian leader. Reproducing the face. Besarir said post-production company AIO plans to use the same technology developed in-house to create deepfake actors to play extras and supporting roles.
“I predict that film and television productions will eventually only employ the lead actors and, in some cases, supporting characters, with entire worlds of backgrounds and supporting characters created digitally,” he said. say.
The specter of AI looms over Hollywood. A survey of 300 entertainment industry leaders released in January found that three-quarters of respondents said AI tools are helping their companies eliminate, reduce or consolidate work. . It is estimated that nearly 204,000 jobs will be negatively impacted over the next three years. Concept artists, sound engineers, and voice actors are at the forefront of that replacement. Visual effects and other post-production work have also been identified as particularly vulnerable.
There is also an imbalance in resistance to the use of AI. civil war and late night But not, say, Robert Zemeckis' upcoming Miramax movie. here, starring a de-aging Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Their transformation was achieved using a new AI-driven generative tool called Metaphysics Live.
Introducing AI to allow actors to play younger or older versions of themselves can help retain A-list talent. Because actors are suddenly eligible to play roles of any age. Just like the graphic artist who might have been out of a job. late night, a young Tom Hanks lookalike may have similarly passed up the opportunity to appear in a major studio film.Why hire Sophie Nelisse to play the younger version of Melanie Lynskey's Shona? yellow jacket When can a production lower the age of an established star?
But while many feel threatened, others see opportunity. “We see AI as a tool, one that unlocks creativity and opportunity and creates jobs rather than eliminating them,” said Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association. hollywood reporter In Cannes, as long as guardrails are in place and copyright is protected.
Rivkin, the former CEO of the Jim Henson Company, points out that the creator of the late, great Muppets was always on the cutting edge of technology. “If Jim were alive today, he would be doing amazing things with his AI and using it to enhance storytelling,” says Rivkin.