AI to Attempt Reconstruction of Lost Footage from Orson Welles‘ “The majestic Ambersons”
LOS ANGELES, CA – September 16, 2024 – Amazon-backed AI company Showrunner is embarking on an ambitious project to digitally reconstruct the 43 minutes of footage famously cut from Orson Welles’ 1942 film, “The Magnificent Ambersons.” The company unveiled a new AI model Friday capable of generating lengthy, complex narratives, with a long-term goal of producing feature-length, live-action films and positioning itself as a leading force in AI-driven content creation.
The project, planned over the next two years, aims to recreate the lost footage after studio executives at RKO Pictures drastically altered Welles’ original vision.The released 87-minute version differs significantly from Welles’ initial 131-minute rough cut, which featured nearly an hour of excised material and a revised, more optimistic ending.
Despite the physical loss of the footage, Welles left detailed notes outlining his intended editing choices. Showrunner intends to utilize thes notes as key prompts for it’s AI technology. The current, compromised version of “the Magnificent Ambersons” is widely considered a cinematic masterpiece, while Welles’ original cut remains one of the most sought-after ”lost” films in cinematic history.
The reconstruction will employ a combination of AI and traditional filmmaking techniques, including motion capture actors. Extensive archival set photographs from the original production will serve as the visual foundation for recreating the scenes. Filmmaker Brian rose is a key contributor, having already spent five years reconstructing 30,000 missing frames and building 3D models of the original sets to enhance the accuracy of the recreation.
Currently, the restoration effort cannot be commercialized as Showrunner has not secured the rights to the film from Warner Bros. Discovery or Concord.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
