The Infinite Possibilities of AI-Generated Cinema

Recently, I've gone down a YouTube rabbit hole of AI-generated content, and I've gotten rather excited about the potential that this technology holds for the future of cinema, and art as a whole.

There's certainly a concern about artificial intelligence disrupting the job market and possibly enslaving humanity by 2030, not entirely unfounded concerns. But perhaps there's a flipside to this. Maybe this is more of a gift than we've been led to believe.

Sure, in terms of the film industry, the prevalence of AI-generated films might not be quite so kind to actors, directors, cinematographers, set designers, costume designers, or pretty much anyone else involved with the production of a film. However, I believe the technology will prove to be a godsend to writers.

Think about it. Now a writer won't need to prove their concept to an executive or assemble a crew of hundreds, or even thousands, to get their vision onto the screen. All they need is a computer and access to one of these AI programs.

I don't believe AI should ever replace real-world film production entirely, but I think it will be an excellent proving ground for writers and aspiring filmmakers. Imagine being able to create and upload a short film to YouTube every day. If enough people support your work, you may catch the eye of some producer or director who will want to greenlight your scripts. They may even invite you to their sets, and you can learn their craft firsthand and then make your own damn movies, with people!

Even if you’re a hermit with no aspirations of working with other people, think of all the stuff you can make by yourself, with access to this technology. People in their basements on their computers could write adaptations of all their favorite novels, films, plays, and TV shows, into whatever style they like. They could make a faithful adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the style of an '80s samurai film, or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in the style of Wes Anderson. You can already find early concepts for these ideas on YouTube.

We have the capability to create visuals that Hollywood couldn't dream of creating before. I suspect some filmmakers may be taking advantage of it now. Have you seen the trailer for Wes Anderson's new film Asteroid City, or Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things? Perhaps they're already catching on.

We can realize Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision of a 14-hour Dune film, or Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon, or, bringing it back to Tolkien, a 100-hour adaptation of Lord Of The Rings that’s more faithful to the spirit of the books than Peter Jackson could ever dream of. We can even recreate lost films, like London After Midnight with Lon Chaney, or Erich Von Stroheim’s complete 9-hour version of Greed. As one YouTube commenter succinctly put it…

"2 more years until we can watch all the films we ever wished for"

Perhaps I'm being idealistic or playing the Devil's Advocate, but I believe this AI technology will serve the creatives of the world in many ways, as long as we don't outsource all of our skill to our digital masters.