David Fincher Shared His Thoughts on AI Saying He's "Not That Worried About it"

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent months about AI being incorporated into filmmaking. It’s already happening and the more that it improves, the movie studios will lean into it and what it can do.

Back in 2023, director David Fincher spoke with GQ about AI, and while he has used it already to help with the filmmaking process, he’s not too worried about the technology. He’s keeping an eye on it, though!

Fincher first talked about some of his artist friends who have played with it, saying: "I have friends who are photographic geniuses playing with AI, and you look at it, and it always looks like sort of a low-rent version of [Academy Award-winning cinematographer] Roger Deakins. And I understand what AI is pulling from in order to make this."

But, the filmmaker does see the benefit of AI being used as a “really powerful tool,” and he shared how he used it in his most recent film, The Killer. AI helped Fincher when he was in a pickle during the post-production on the film.

He said: "We had a few lines [...] in 'The Killer' that we had looped but we couldn't get right, with Michael, so he said it into an iPhone in an environment that was not conducive to being used as a voiceover, and we could take it and process it through the hours of voiceover that we had, and spit back out, and it was clean, and it was the music of his voice. And that's incredibly handy to have."

The director went on to explain why he’s not worried about AI, saying: “And for my money, I have not heard an AI Beatles song that compares to ‘Eleanor Rigby.’

“So until somebody plays an AI song that knocks me out [...] maybe that's just where we're at now, and I may be eating my words in a year, but I think ultimately, the thing that we respond to in poetry, and writing, and songwriting, and photography, is the personal bent. The thing that's making it [human]."

A lot has evolved with AI tech since Fincher gave these interviews and experts are saying that in five years AI will have the creativity of a human, which is bonkers.

Fincher concluded: "Until the point of time that somebody shows me something that I go — [he slaps his chest] — 'Oh my god, that breaks my heart,' and then they say, 'Oh, well, as it turns out, this was somebody talking into a microphone, and this is the film that came out,' I'm not that worried about it."

As AI continues to evolve it will be interesting and crazy to see how it continues to change how things are done and how filmmakers will make movies in the future.

Via: /Film