Guillermo del Toro had a savage response when quizzed on his thoughts about using AI in his movies.
The esteemed director is no stranger to a visual challenge when it comes to filmmaking, having forged huge success in the horror and fantasy genres, often blending his stories with gothicism and fairy tale.
His most famous work includes the 13-time Oscar-nominated The Shape of Water (2017), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), The Devil’s Backbone (2001), and Crimson Peak (2015), to name just a few.
The 61-year-old’s latest project is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein novel, with Oscar Isaac starring as the egotistical scientist while Jacob Elordi embodies his monstrous creation.
Ahead of its Netflix release next month after a theatre run, del Toro has given his frank thoughts on artificial intelligence… admitting that he’d rather ‘die’ than use it to bring his characters to life.
Speaking to NPR, del Toro aptly compared the recent fascination with generative AI, which, in short, is a type of AI that can create new content and ideas, such as conversations, videos, and music, to the ‘arrogance’ displayed in the Frankenstein story.
‘AI, particularly generative AI—I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested,’ he declared.
‘I’m 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak.
‘The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, “What is your stance on AI?” And my answer was very short. I said, “I’d rather die”.’
He also said, rather poetically: ‘My concern is not artificial intelligence, but natural stupidity. I think that’s what drives most of the world’s worst features.’
Likening Victor to the ‘tech bros’ of today, del Toro explained: ‘He’s kind of blind, creating something without considering the consequences, and I think we have to take a pause and consider where we’re going.’
Indeed, AI has fuelled some fiery debates in Hollywood this year, most recently sparking outrage with the creation of a virtual actress.
Named Tilly Norwood, the brunette character quickly caught the eye of talent agents, who were keen to hire her for their projects.
She was even hailed as ‘the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman’, while led to major names in the industry hitting out and expressing their anger.
One of those stars was Emily Blunt, who reacted in terror after being shown a video of ‘Tilly’, who boasts her own social media presence.
‘That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed,’ the A Quiet Place actress responded on a Variety podcast.
‘That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.’
All of the criticism caused the creator of Tilly to retaliate, insisting that the digital actress is not a ‘replacement’ for a human being.
However, this didn’t stop other TV and film stars from speaking their minds, with Melissa Barrera calling the whole thing ‘gross’, and Matilda actress Mara Wilson raising the point: ‘And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?’
At least fans of del Toro can rest assured that his films will long remain AI-free, a stance that has definitely paid off as far as feedback of his version of Frankenstein is concerned.
Metro‘s Film Expert Tori Brazier gave the film a respectable four-star review, praising: ‘I doubt Netflix will ever get to own a movie as truly epic, imaginative, and cinematic as this again.’
Over on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Frankenstein has already earned an impressive 86% from critics, while audience reviews sit at a near-perfect 95%, with comments lauding del Toro’s ability to create ‘cinematic magic’.
Also starring Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Ineson, Frankenstein will be available to stream on Netflix from November 7.
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