AI Movies and the Future

[bmoney]

I’m not sure au will change movies. In the whole 

[David Vaughn]

I’m not sure au will change movies. In the whole

You're probably right. 90% or more of them will still be middling to bad

[SRW1000]

I’m not sure au will change movies. In the whole

After posting this, I found a YouTube interview with a guy who used to work for Lucasfilm and he was specifically discussing these little AI videos in the context of his background in animation.

Some of what he discussed was how much of what we end up seeing is a matter of compromise.  Either due to time or money or both.  He got down to the point of how many laser blasts they could put in a show.  He also talked about how much time it took to do simple things that we take for granted, like walking through a door.

Now, look at that in the context of what AI can do.  What would take a team weeks or months to do can now be done by one guy in that much time or less.  Scale that with more people working on a project or taking more time to create something and the change is groundbreaking.

The other thing that he talked about was just how many levels of approval a project has to go through, on both the story and budget sides of things.  AI eliminates all that meddling, for better or worse.  It's literally taking the reins off of creators.  They'll still need to have a great story idea and existing IP is likely off the table but given the right person with the right imagination we're looking at a production level that has been unthinkable until now.

As a side note, as my wife and I were watching this latest installment, I turned to her and said wouldn't it be something if the person behind these two Star Wars videos was George Lucas.  I know that it's not but given his involvement with pushing the envelope and how he's never been the best with actors, this seems like something he would just love to play with.

Give these tools to a young George Lucas, and we may be shocked at what entertainment might look like in just a few years from now.  No studio interference, no budget limitations, just pure on-screen imagination.  I don't see how AI wont' be revolutionary.  

[David Vaughn]

After posting this, I found a YouTube interview with a guy who used to work for Lucasfilm and he was specifically discussing these little AI videos in the context of his background in animation.

Some of what he discussed was how much of what we end up seeing is a matter of compromise.  Either due to time or money or both.  He got down to the point of how many laser blasts they could put in a show.  He also talked about how much time it took to do simple things that we take for granted, like walking through a door.

Now, look at that in the context of what AI can do.  What would take a team weeks or months to do can now be done by one guy in that much time or less.  Scale that with more people working on a project or taking more time to create something and the change is groundbreaking.

The other thing that he talked about was just how many levels of approval a project has to go through, on both the story and budget sides of things.  AI eliminates all that meddling, for better or worse.  It's literally taking the reins off of creators.  They'll still need to have a great story idea and existing IP is likely off the table but given the right person with the right imagination we're looking at a production level that has been unthinkable until now.

As a side note, as my wife and I were watching this latest installment, I turned to her and said wouldn't it be something if the person behind these two Star Wars videos was George Lucas.  I know that it's not but given his involvement with pushing the envelope and how he's never been the best with actors, this seems like something he would just love to play with.

Give these tools to a young George Lucas, and we may be shocked at what entertainment might look like in just a few years from now.  No studio interference, no budget limitations, just pure on-screen imagination.  I don't see how AI wont' be revolutionary. 

It should substantially lower the costs of making films, which have become much too expensive. 

[Paul Heroy]

Ars Technica has a good article on Darren Aronofsky's heavy use of AI in making a historical docu-drama series  “On This Day… 1776.”

Among other things, a source on the story notes that it's still very difficult to "direct" the AI tool with prompts, with no good way of knowing how many "takes" will be required to get the desired result... and for it to be consistent enough to make a 2 hour movie instead of a short.

“It still takes a lot of work, and it’s not necessarily because it’s wrong, per se, so much as trying to get the right control because you [might] want the light to land on the face in the right way to try to tell the story,” the source said. “We’re still, we’re still striving for the same amount of control that we always have [with live-action production] to really maximize the story and the emotion.”

“It’s one thing to stay consistent within three minutes. It’s a lot harder and it takes a lot more work to stay consistent within two hours,” the source said. “I don’t know what the upper limit is now [but] the longer you get, the more things start to fall off.”

[SRW1000]

I can't resist posting the latest Star Wars video that was posted in the Begger's Canyon series.



A new guest star has been added that is a perfect in-joke for longtime Star Wars fans.  Spoiler:  He looks better here than his recent de-aged Hollywood franchise appearance.

One thing that comes to mind watching this is that it allows filmmakers total control over their creation.  No studio notes, no marketing concerns, no salary constraints.  That does raise all kinds of ethical considerations as actors have zero say in how their likenesses are used.  This example is fairly harmless, but it doesn't take much effort to think of all kinds of unsavory content that could be made by those with questionable or twisted ideologies.

There's no telling what this evolves to over the next two to three years, but I don't think society is ready for it.

[David Vaughn]

That's the best he's done yet IMO. Very engaging and has me wanting to see more!

[SRW1000]

That's the best he's done yet IMO. Very engaging and has me wanting to see more!

Glance through some of the YouTube comments and compare them to what people have been posting on the official Disney trailers for the modern Star Wars brand.  The contrast is stark.  He's definitely tapped into the type of content long-term fans would like to see.

Maybe the recent changes at Disney will give them a chance to course correct but call me skeptical.  In the meantime, creators like this can help fill the void that's existed for the past decade or so.

[SRW1000]

Another installment of the Begger's Canyon AI series:



This one is a little more mixed in execution, but he's also being much more ambitious with this entry.  Star Wars fans will find some rewarding surprises.  I'd still consider this more of a tech demo, but the story is developing beyond what I would have expected.

[SRW1000]

And on the moral/ethical side of things, we have this news from Variety:  Val Kilmer Resurrected by AI: ‘As Deep as the Grave’ Trailer Brings Late Actor Back to the Big Screen (EXCLUSIVE)

The filmmakers behind “As Deep as the Grave” have debuted the trailer for the upcoming historical drama, giving viewers a first look at the AI technology that was used to create Val Kilmer‘s performance.

Kilmer, who died in 2025 after battling throat cancer, was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, but was too sick to shoot his role. With the cooperation of Kilmer’s estate and his daughter Mercedes, the “As Deep as the Grave” team used generative AI to include the actor in the finished film.

Kilmer pops up numerous times in a trailer first shared on Wednesday at CinemaCon, the exhibition industry trade show being held this week in Las Vegas. The footage includes Kilmer at various ages — at one point, he’s a spectral, ghost-like figure; at another, he’s a dashing, 30-something man of the cloth.

“Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me,” Kilmer tells a child at one point, kneeling down to look her straight in the eyes.

Coerte Voorhees, the film’s writer and director, and John Voorhees, the film’s producer and Coerte’s brother, argue that they have found an ethical way to use the controversial technology, because they have worked in concert with Kilmer’s family. They note that the film, which tells the story of Ann Axtell Morris, one of this country’s first female archeologists, and her excavation of the Canyon De Chelly in Arizona, resonated strongly with Kilmer.

““It was very much designed around him,” Coerte Voorhees told Variety last month. “It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest…His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this.”

Coerte Voorhees revealed at CinemaCon that Kilmer’s role is substantial and his character will appear in over an hour of the movie.

There are fears in Hollywood that AI will eliminate acting jobs as studios search for ways to cut costs. But the “As Deep as the Grave” filmmakers insist that they only used the technology out of necessity and a deep desire to include Kilmer in their project. They also note that the production relied on SAG guidelines and compensated Kilmer’s estate for his appearance. The actor’s family provided archival material that the production used to create the performance.

In a statement, Mercedes Kilmer said that her father would have wanted to be included in “As Deep as the Grave.”

“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” Mercedes Kilmer said. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”

Kilmer’s AI-generated presence will attract a lot of attention for “As Deep as the Grave,” but the trailer also boasts epic-looking action. There are excavations in dramatic cliffside settings, shots of buffalo running majestically along a plain and images of a car trying to pass through rapids. The ensemble includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Abigail Breslin, Tatanka Means, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Wes Studi and Finn Jones.

[SRW1000]

Here's a new application of AI that @Barry may be particularly interested in:

Marvel Mastermind Stan Lee’s Voice & Likeness Resurrected By AI Company ElevenLabs

Stan Lee‘s estate is embracing the superpower of artificial intelligence.

The Marvel Comics mastermind’s voice and likeness will be resurrected by ElevenLabs, the AI audio company valued at $11 billion earlier this year. Lee died in 2018, aged 95.

Under a deal with the Stan Lee Universe, the comic book creator’s cloned voice will narrate some of his favorite books in the Eleven Reader app.

Stan Lee Book of the Month Club will debut with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, with another 11 books being adapted over the coming year. . . .


Furthermore, Lee’s likeness will be available on the ElevenLabs Image & Video Marketplace, enabling users to create the kind of cameos that cemented his association with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Music has also been created, inspired by the “aesthetic and energy” of his imagination.

“Stan always believed in meeting his fans where they were: in the pages of a comic, at a convention, or in a quick on-screen cameo,” said Chaz Rainey of the Stan Lee Universe.

“This partnership is a way of continuing that. Fans have always told us that when they read his comics, they hear the words in Stan’s voice, and now, thanks to ElevenLabs, we can make that a reality.”


Full article here:  Stan Lee's Voice & Likeness Resurrected By AI Company ElevenLabs

This one sits a little uncomfortable for me.  I'm not sure Stan would have given his consent to this kind of usage, though part of me thinks he may have loved the idea.

[David Vaughn]

I'm curious to hear Barry's take on this, that's for sure!

[SRW1000]

And in an unrelated development, here's another use for AI:



I recall the concept of set extensions being discussed way back in the advent of HD broadcasts.  The example they used was taking the I Love Lucy show and digitally reconstructing the sets to have them fill a 16x9 screen.  That would have been an intensive and manual process, but now it can be done by a guy in his own home.

The colorization effect doesn't look all that much better than what Ted Turner did with the classic B&W movies back in the 80s.  It doesn't work at all for me, and the B&W looks so much better.

At the same time, there's an entire generation that refuses to watch anything that's not in color.

And here's another example.  The infamous Lon Chaney film London After Midnight has been lost for over half a century and all that remains are the script and some still frames.  Using AI and those few remnants, the following has been created:

Classic Horror Films on X: "The first/best complete attempt at a AI reconstruction of the 1927 Lon Chaney film: 'London After Midnight' Real film stills and the original script were used. It's not a true copy, but it's all there is............... https://t.co/7Nt7LubI3l" / X

This is a fascinating attempt to have AI give life to the missing movie.  There will be questions about the action, framing, facial expressions, etc. so at best, it's a recreation.  But it's still amazing to see what was created.

This could be used for other films, as well.  The Magnificent Ambersons was infamously taken out of Welles' hands and butchered in the editing room by RKO with the excised footage being destroyed.  Rumors of the missing footage have circled ever since but never surfaced.  I could see someone taking the script, existing footage, and soundtrack and recreating what they think Welles would have intended.

This is all a very grayish area.  The original productions of the last two no longer exist, so they can't be seen.  Is an AI recreation worth the time to make and watch?  Or are we best off imagining what might have been?

[Barry]

Actually, I am saddened by this. People are unique and we shouldn’t be able to copy them. Stan gave me the highest rank of a Marvel Fan And we emailed each other. I was a F.F.F. A Fearless Face Fronter. He often forgot what he had written in the 1960s and 70s and would ask me about that.

What they are doing with his image invoice is not only distasteful. It’s creepy. this illustration of mine was published when we lost Stan. it’s bottom caption tells you how I feel.

[bmoney]

Terminator 2 incoming