James Cameron Condemnsโ AI’s Potential to “make Upโ an Actor,” Contrasting โขEarly โข’Avatar‘ Tech
LOS ANGELES, CA – Director James โCameron has sharply criticized the riseโ ofโ generative artificial intelligence in filmmaking, calling the prospectโ ofโค AI creating actors and performancesโ from scratch “horrifying.” Theโ comments come as the industry โgrapples with the implications of โrapidly advancingโฃ AI โtechnology and its potential to disrupt established creative roles.
Cameron’s stance is notably noteworthy given past misconceptions surrounding his pioneering work on 2005’s “Avatar.” He โขrevealed that some โขHollywood insiders initially feared he โคwas developing computer graphics โto replace actors,โฃ when in โฃreality, the technology was intended to enhance โandโ celebrate the actor-director collaboration. “For years, there was โคthis sense that, ‘oh, they’re doing something strange with computers and they’re replacing actors,’โฃ when actually, once you really drill downโฃ andโ you see what โwe’re doing, it’s a celebration ofโ the actor-director moment,”โ Cameron recalled.โข
The currentโค debate intensifiedโ in September withโข the introduction ofโฃ Tilly norwood, an AI performer presented at โthe Zurich Summit by โcomedian and producer Eline Van der Velden. Van der Velden claimed โmultiple talent agencies had expressed interest,โ sparking immediate backlash from industry leaders,โฃ including SAG-AFTRA. The controversy underscores aโ growing anxiety within the entertainment industry about theโข potential for AI to displace human actors โฃand creatives.
Van der Velden, โin a recent interview with Variety, predicted a gradual integration of AI into filmmaking, starting with effects and establishing shots beforeโข possiblyโค culminating in fullโ AI-generated โfilms. She suggestedโ audiences โขmay not even be able to distinguishโ between human and โคAI-created content, with โข”goodโ storytelling” ultimately determining a film’sโ success.
Cameron, though, vehemently disagrees with this outlook.โข “Now, go โฃto the other end of the spectrum, andโข you’veโ got generative AI, where theyโค can โขmake up โขa โcharacter,” he said.”They can make up anโ actor. They can make โฃup a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It’s like, no. That’sโฃ horrifying to me. That’s theโข opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing.”
