CANNES, France (AP) 鈥� The can function like a global water cooler for movies, with prevailing issues and anxieties tending to come to the surface at the event. This year, the topic du jour is .
The 79th Cannes may go down as the time the world’s grandest film festival for the first time wrestled with the onset of AI 鈥� its arrival has been felt like a tsunami on the French Riviera. Its potential to remake the movie industry, for good or bad, has been an ongoing debate since the festival opened.
And in many quarters, the tone is softening.
鈥淭he buzz in Cannes and the buzz in the industry, it does feel like it鈥檚 definitely a turning point,鈥� said Scott Mann, co-chief executive of Flawless, a company that specializes in assistive AI programs for post-production.
On screen and off, AI is much more present.
For the first time, Cannes has partnered with Meta in a new multiyear deal. The company has set up camp at the Majestic Hotel. And its AI tools were used to help produce a festival entry: Steven Soderbergh’s 鈥淛ohn Lennon: The Last Interview.鈥�
The documentary is about a lengthy and insightful interview Lennon and Yoko Ono gave on the day Lennon was shot and killed in 1980. To add imagery to match Lennon’s conversation, Soderbergh used Meta’s AI programs to create surreal graphics.
The choice brought scorn from most critics in Cannes, but Soderbergh, a highly skilled innovator who has shot movies on iPhones, believes its time for such experimentation.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen yet someone with a certain amount of creative credibility go full-metal AI on something, and see how people react. I think it鈥檚 necessary,鈥� 鈥淗ow do you know where the line is until somebody crosses it? I don鈥檛 think what I鈥檓 doing crosses it. Some people may disagree. I don鈥檛 know where my line is yet. I鈥檓 waiting to see.鈥�
Everyone weighs in, for or against AI
Filmmakers, actors and others at Cannes have been drawing their own lines, or at least making pronouncements about AI.
, Demi Moore, a juror, said fighting AI 鈥渋s a battle we will lose.鈥� The next day, honorary Palme d’Or recipient Peter Jackson, said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 dislike it at all. To me, it鈥檚 just a special effect. It鈥檚 no different from other special effects.鈥�
Filmmaker James Gray, whose starry family drama 鈥淧aper Tiger鈥� over the weekend, said he’s not worried.
鈥淚n some cases, it can be a very helpful tool,鈥� said Gray in an interview. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think in our lifetime, or even our children鈥檚 lifetimes, it will come close to mirroring the only true infinite we know, which is the soul.鈥�
鈥淭he answer I think is that most young people should be studying the humanities,鈥� added Gray. 鈥淧eople should be reading Tolstoy in their spare time to understand the human soul.”
From Oscars to Cannes, it’s a changing landscape
Cannes is unfolding in the wake of some significant new developments for AI in Hollywood.
Earlier this month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science , ruling that only performances 鈥渄emonstrably performed by humans with their consent鈥� will be considered for acting nominations.
At the same time, the Oscar group also said AI tools 鈥渘either help nor harm the chance of a nomination.鈥�
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists recently reached a tentative agreement with studios detailing and clarifying AI guardrails for things like the use of digital replicas and synthetic performers.
Some advancements have sent shudders through Hollywood. The unveiling of Tilly Norwood, an entirely AI-created so-called 鈥渁ctress,鈥� sparked outrage through the industry. Earlier this year, the first look at a posthumous AI resurrection of Val Kilmer, for a film made with his family’s consent, spawned another round of debate.
But while more extreme uses of generative AI continue to prompt worry, other iterations continue to make inroads.
鈥淚t is going to be a part of our business,鈥� Kent Sanderson, Bleecker Street chief executive, said in a panel discussion. 鈥淚t is going to lower production costs, and yes, you probably will be able to make something that looks like a Marvel movie in your basement in a couple of years.鈥�
While Cannes has stringent rules for on its red carpet, it’s issuing no decrees banning AI from film selections 鈥� for now.
The day before the festival began, Cannes’ artistic director Thierry Fr茅maux wryly responded to a question about AI, noting that he had also heard James Cameron had used special effects for 鈥淎vatar.鈥�
鈥淲hat I can say with certainty in relation to artificial intelligence is that we are on the side of the artists, the screenwriters, actors and voice actors,鈥� said Fr茅maux. 鈥淲e stand with everyone whose job could be negatively impacted by artificial intelligence. It requires legislation. We need to control this.鈥�
Mann, the Flawless executive, was sitting on the Cannes beach outside a party his company was throwing in one of the seaside clubs that regularly host movie after-parties. Since 2019, Flawless has set out to demonstrate that AI can be used thoughtfully.
Unlicensed generative AI is bad, he states unequivocally.
鈥淏ut what we鈥檝e found is that the way people don鈥檛 understand is part of the problem. AI as a term is seen as a catchall, but it鈥檚 not that simple,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淭he truth is, our industry needs saving. It needs a technological evolution, and this is offering it.鈥�
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