One overhyped technology with dubious use cases deserves another, so it’s only right that the first big AI-generated film will focus on Bitcoin. An upcoming thriller called Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi, directed by Doug Liman of Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow fame, and starring Gal Gadot, Pete Davidson, and Casey Affleck, is, according to The Wrap, set to be the first “studio-quality” feature film to prominently feature wall-to-wall AI-generated imagery in its production.
Per the report, the film is being produced independently by the heads of visual effects studio Acme AI & FX. The company reportedly built a fully customized soundstage that was used to shoot the film over the course of 20 days. The room consisted of blank walls and simple lights, as the actual sets and lighting will all be generated using AI tools during post-production.
According to the filmmakers, opting to go with AI knocked production costs down from $300 million to around $70 million, which begs the question: How in the world would this movie cost $300 million? Are there a lot of chase scenes and stunts happening in a movie about people coding? Is this not just a movie of people in rooms talking?
Here’s where the Hollywood math comes in. Producer Ryan Kavanaugh told The Wrap that the script “has about 200 distinct locations, from Antarctica to Antigua to Vegas, which is obviously unproducible.” The $300 million figure, it seems, comes from budgeting to shoot on location every time. “We realized we could bring down the cost by utilizing some of the AI tools out there,” Kavanaugh explained.
But producers also could have brought the cost down by just not shooting on location. It’s a movie; you are allowed to lie. They shot Escape From New York in St. Louis; no one cares.
Despite the use of AI for post-production, there’s a lot of human labor going into the film—a fact that the producers would really like you to know. Per The Wrap, the filming process employed 107 cast members, 100 shoot crew, 54 non-shoot crew, and the planned 30-week post-production sessions will require 55 “AI artists.” The focus on how many people were involved in the project feels like a clear indication that they know there is a general distaste for AI in art, which means walking the very fine line of shamelessly promoting the technology they are profiting from while also taking great pains to emphasize the human touch throughout.
It also feels pretty clear that the producers want AI to be the star of the show. While they’ve definitely pulled in some noteworthy names for the project, none are typically the headliners you’d expect for a film with a theoretical $300 million budget. Gal Gadot was last seen tanking the live-action Snow White remake, Casey Affleck is an extremely talented actor who typically lands supporting roles in bigger budget productions, and Pete Davidson is, well, Pete Davidson. So, come for the AI, stay to see if any of these actors even talk about this film once the press tour ends.
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