🎥 Steven Soderbergh Made a Film About John Lennon Using AI

The documentary "John Lennon: The Last Interview," directed by Steven Soderbergh, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is based on an interview given by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their apartment on December 8, 1980. A few hours after the recording, Lennon was shot outside his home.

Soderbergh included previously unpublished excerpts from the interview in the film, as well as rare archival photos and video recordings from the couple's life. Additionally, more than 10% of the scenes were created with AI tools.

❗️ The director insists that he did not generate deepfakes, but instead used algorithms to visualize Lennon and Ono's philosophical ideas. For example, the AI created a scene featuring crying babies dressed in 1960s clothing and Cro-Magnons, which accompanies Lennon's reflections on gender inequality.

"AI has been helpful in creating thematically surreal images that occupy a dream space rather than a literal space. And that's been really fun because you need a Ph.D. in literature to tell it what to do. But like every other piece of technology, it desperately requires very close human supervision," explains Soderbergh.

➡️ The film received mixed reviews (its rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 53%). Many critics believe that it is precisely the AI-generated content that feels out of place, making the film less authentic.

Would you watch a movie if part of it was made with AI?

❤️ — Yes, it's part of the movie
🔥 — No, it's an AI slop...

@hiaimediaen