When James Dean was cast in a new movie six decades after his death, eyebrows were raised. When Marvel used AI to de-age actors or reconstruct faces after untimely deaths, a quiet line was crossed. And when Netflix started feeding script suggestions into machine learning models, it signalled a deeper shift: the age of algorithmic storytelling is no longer theoretical — it's now box office reality.
AI is not just a tool in the modern filmmaker’s kit — it’s increasingly a co-creator, a production assistant, and sometimes, the star. But while AI offers breathtaking innovation, it also raises hard questions about creativity, consent, and the future of storytelling. In a recent Paste Magazine feature that dives into these very tensions, critic Molly Peck notes that the film industry, with the arrival of AI, is facing a potential revolution, or perhaps, disruption.”
So how did we get here, and what happens next?
The Practical: AI as a Production Workhorse
First, the good news. AI is making films faster, cheaper, and in some cases, more inclusive. James Cameron has noted it could cut costs while saving jobs and David Cronenberg, who used it to enhance Hungarian dialogue in The Brutalist, has says it used “all the time”. Visual effects teams are using generative AI to simulate crowd scenes without extras. Editing tools powered by machine learning can cut together hours of dailies in minutes. Voice cloning can fix misread lines without a reshoot.
Studios are already leaning on AI tools to analyse scripts, assess likely box office returns, and even recommend cast pairings that will resonate with certain demographics. For indie filmmakers, AI can democratise what was once prohibitively expensive: 3D rendering, animation, and even complex CGI are now within reach of laptops, not just Hollywood budgets.
The Creative: Collaboration or Colonisation?
But when algorithms begin to suggest narrative arcs, generate dialogue, or replicate a deceased actor’s likeness — the conversation changes.
Paste’s editorial calls attention to an emerging friction in the industry: the tension between efficiency and authenticity. “What do we lose,” Amidon asks, “when the raw edges of human creativity are sanded down by code?”
AI-generated scripts tend to mimic what’s come before, raising concerns about originality. Studios are understandably drawn to pattern recognition — it’s less risky. But that often means flattening nuance in favour of formula. In an industry already grappling with sequel fatigue, will AI help writers be more creative — or simply more predictable?
The Ethical: Whose Face Is It Anyway?
Nothing has captured the public’s unease like deepfakes and digital resurrections. The backlash to James Dean’s posthumous casting in Finding Jack was swift and vocal. For many, it blurred the line between homage and exploitation.
Actors now face an uncertain future: are they performers, or data sets? As the 2023 Hollywood strikes made clear, performers are demanding clear protections against the unauthorised use of their likenesses, voices, and performances — including in perpetuity.
Paste’s coverage connects the dots: this isn’t just a technical or artistic issue — it’s a labour issue. Without regulation, the same AI tools that empower some creators could displace others.
The Verdict: A New Type of Auteur?
So is AI the enemy of cinema, or its next evolution? Like most things in Hollywood, the answer depends on who holds the rights — and who writes the checks.
There’s enormous promise in using AI to reduce costs, expand access, and amplify creative possibility. But as Paste’s reporting makes clear, this promise can’t be separated from its perils. Transparency, consent, and ethical boundaries need to be built into the foundation — not bolted on afterward.
The credits haven’t rolled yet. But if we’re writing the next chapter in cinema’s story, we should be asking not just what AI can do — but what we want it to do.
