These six films and shows used AI. For most of them, it didn’t go well.

There’s a lot of discussion, worry, and confusion around artificial intelligence permeating all facets of life, and that’s definitely the case when it comes to the world of film. Marvel’snext big team-up movie, Thunderbolts*, recently took the brunt of all this chaos when onlookers went after what they thought was gen AI used in a new poster. The actor in question, who some viewers thought had six fingers on the poster, denied AI involvement and politely asked viewers to look closer.

Meanwhile, the Netflix true crime doc What Jennifer Did was accused of using AI to manipulate photos when viewers noticed malformed fingers and odd facial features. The producer denied AI was involved, noting that some images went through editing processes to protect those who submitted the photos, including removing any identifying components from the photos.

Both cases point to a very intense and immediate reaction against AIbeing used in popular media, whether people really fully understand what AI is doing and how it’s used. They aren’t the only ones that have gotten involved in AI concern and outrage. Here’s how generative artificial intelligence has been used in and around some recent titles.

Late Night With the Devil

A throwback horror employed some modern touches

This clever retro indie horror is plenty of fun to watch. David Dastmalchian is the titular host of an after-hours Halloween special, with the look and feel of something seedy from the 70s. However, three small objects in the movie, barely comprising a moment at all significant, took up a lot of space in the discourse of this film. The directors stated they used generative AI for three still images in the film, all of which were edited by humans.

For some viewers, it was enough to ruin the cinematic experience. It’s a curious case because the implementation of AI in this instance seems utterly unnecessary, and only served to draw negative attention to what had been an otherwise well-received, enjoyable movie.

True Detective: Night Country also has attracted derision for what seems to be the use of AI in creating a poster on a wall in the background of a scene.

Related

These 7 scary movies were so intense I had to leave the lights on at night

These chilling horror films pack in scares that you won’t be able to forget

Alien: Romulus

AI employed to bring back an AI

The discussion around AI gets a lot more complicated and intriguing when we look at Alien: Romulus, director Fede Alvarez’s addition to the long-running sci-fi horror series. The film is set between the events of Alien and Aliens, and one of the ways Alvarez wanted to honor the series was to bring back Ian Holm, who died in 2020, in the role of an android, albeit a different character than the one he played in the first movie. In order to do so, Alvarez first sought permission from the actor’s estate to use his likeness. Most of the recreation was done using physical machines, with an actor standing as well for movements. CGI was made to make sure facial gestures and generative AI was incorporated to make sure his voice was accurate.

While there is plenty of irony in using modern AI technologies to bring back to life an actor who played a memorable AI synthetic in an iconic sci-fi film, Alvarez and filmmakers have pointed to the respect present around the creation, the role Holm’s character plays in the film as noteworthy. He also pointed to the fact that this process costs way more money and effort than simply finding a new actor to play the role, so it doesn’t seem like this specific situation will happen again.

Related

Alien: Romulus is a deeply visceral and satisyfing thriller I couldn’t look away from

A simple story gives ways to a tense, exhilarating movie that reminds of the best of the Alien franchise.

Civil War

Promotional work in support of the film divides audiences

It’s so curious that some of the films that have gotten caught up in AI has ties to stories about it. The recent feature by acclaimed director Alex Garland, who rose to prominence following the release of Ex-Machine, a story about an AI robot, came under plenty of heat for a series of promotional posters that were created using gen AI. These posters had some pretty apparent errors and were spotted quite quickly.

The posters were created using gen AI, and aren’t even representative of any scenes in the actual movie. They seem to have been created in order to create a sense of what the movie is about, but yet again, they only served to create a negative distraction.

Related

6 movies you didn’t know were shot on iPhone

You don’t need a big expensive camera to shoot a movie. Sometimes it just takes an iPhone or two and plenty of creative storytelling.

Megalopolis

Don’t trust what movies are saying critics have said

Here’s another resistance of the PR and marketing department doing something not in the movie’s best interest. The Francis Ford Coppola epic Megalopolis recently put out a trailer that made the curious decision to position this curious movie against criticisms of past Coppola films, employing negative reviews of some of his beloved works, which, I guess was meant to say that you can’t trust critics. Nevermind that it’s a bit of a stretch for that to be your PR move, but it was actually all an entire lie.

The quotes were made up, and not just made up by a person. They were made up by gen AI, and it was used in this trailer. The marketing consultant was fired and Lionsgate issued a sizable apology to lots of people.

Related

16 underrated horror movies to add to your Halloween watchlist

We’ve rounded up our favorite horror movies you probably haven’t seen yet to give you plenty of new scares this Halloween.

Secret Invasion

There was nothing hidden about AI that’s front and center on the Marvel show

The widely-panned Marvel Disney+ series Secret Invasion made the curious decision, among many other curious decisions, to use AI in its opening credit sequence. This was not something that was caught by viewers in other instances, or used by some PR team, but instead an intentional use of AI by the creative group, including the director. They hired a studio to use AI to create the opening sequence in order, according to the director, to convey a sense of unease and paranoia, two feelings the show tried desperately to cultivate.

It all kind of makes sense. While there are bits and pieces of Secret Invasion that had potential (mainly the cast and the source material), it all comes to terribly in a poorly-executed story that has one bad idea after another. Maybe deep down the opening credits were meant to be a warning to audiences that the show isn’t worth your time.

Related

Another former Avengers actor announces he’s returning to Marvel. Do you care?

Everything old is new again in the Marvel universe. Hot on the heels of confirmation that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, James Spader has confirmed that he too is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to reprise his role as the voice of robotic villain Ultron in Marvel Studios’ upcoming untitled Vision series. Though Ultron was defeated at the end of that film, it looks like no one is ever truly dead or defeated for good in the multiverse, and it will be interesting to see how this villain returns. Are you excited for another familiar face to return to the MCU? 

The Last Screenwriter

A movie about a movie about AI, written AI

This meta story about a movie writer who’s anxious about AI encroachment met a lot of resistance before even ever getting a showing. The Swiss production directed by Peter Luisi credits Chat GPT 4.0 as a writer on the film, which prompted a protest of a screening in London that was ultimately canceled. According to the film’s website, the story began with the following prompt: “Write a plot to a feature length film where a screenwriter realizes he is less good than artificial intelligence in writing.”

The director positions the film as a warning and an example of the quality, or lack thereof, in a film written by AI. That the film was not made for profit and is available for free online, along with a downloadable script and plenty of transparency about the creation process, seems to serve his point. It just might be that it’s a little too soon for everyone to handle this exploration of AI.

AI has been used for some strange, and often misguided reasons, in and around movie-making, and almost none of it seems to have been particularly successful. And, in almost every case, it’s been terribly received. For all the pushback and concern, it’s surely not the last time it will be used. At least there are plenty of eagle-eyed viewers out there ready to point it out.

Related

ChatGPT finally got the upgrade writers and coders have been waiting for

Canvas makes working with code or long passages of text a breeze.