While promoting his new film "The Christophers", award-winning director Steven Soderbergh recently spoke with Filmmaker magazine, revealing that his newly completed documentary, "John Lennon: The Last Interview," utilized AI to create surreal visuals. He also confirmed that his next Western-themed film will continue to incorporate AI. These remarks quickly sparked a polarized debate, as many directors and actors in Hollywood remain strongly opposed to artificial intelligence.
Addressing the external reactions, Soderbergh further elaborated on his views on AI in a recent interview with Variety. "I don't feel threatened by AI," he stated. "I only fear what I don't understand, so I feel obligated to understand it, to figure out what it is and what it can do."
Soderbergh continued, "It turns out that in certain sections of the Lennon documentary, AI became a very good tool because I needed to intersperse some surrealistic images that couldn't be filmed. AI helped me solve a creative problem: how to visualize the philosophical content John and Yoko were discussing. Ten years ago, I would have had to spend a large sum of money to hire a visual effects company to create these effects, but not anymore. My job is to make a good film, and that's it, and this tool just happened to appear when I needed it. I don't think AI can solve all problems, nor do I think it's the end-all, be-all. We are still in the very early stages. Five years from now, we might all look back casually and say, 'That was a fun time.' We might not end up using AI as frequently as we initially thought. There are some people I deeply respect and love who refuse to use AI; that's their privilege. But I'm not that kind of person. You just show me a new tool, and I'll want to experience it myself to see how it works."
However, Soderbergh also emphasized that he would not use AI for writing. "I'm not interested in using AI as a writing tool because it would deprive me of the reason I love this job, which is the creative process. Doing so would make everything outcome-oriented. I'm not afraid of AI; I just feel I can't use it to execute any important creative processes."
Beyond embracing modern technology like AI, Soderbergh also admitted that the dismal box office performance of his previous film, "Black Bag," altered his criteria for selecting projects. "It made me realize that I need to find works that I enjoy and that also have the potential to attract a large audience," he explained. " 'The Christophers' is a very accessible film, but it certainly won't be a huge hit like 'Kimi,' right? Looking ahead, I want to find subject matter that is large enough in scale because it's been a long time since I've made a truly big production with commercial appeal that draws a large audience into theaters. I want to find topics that can generate buzz and that I personally enjoy."
via： Variety