The Odyssey is almost here, and Christopher Nolan has words about AI slop
The famous director insists that the younger generation is “utterly rejecting” AI
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- Christopher Nolan says young adults are rapidly and harshly rejecting AI-generated "slop" in filmmaking
- Nolan cites directors Kane Parsons and Curry Barker as praised examples of embracing practical, non-AI techniques
- Another acclaimed director, Martin Scorsese, endorsed an AI startup last month and said he was using its tech to help storyboard his movies
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Christopher Nolan has a new movie out – The Odyssey is premiering this week. The Oscar-winning director is certainly busy, but he still found time to lament the ongoing AI boom in a new interview. Still, Nolan’s full of optimism.
Nolan – who also directed Oppenheimer – is a veteran critic of AI and has already warned of the technology’s “terrifying possibilities.” Needless to say, he prefers old-school filming and storytelling techniques.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Nolan praises Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, two young directors who recently debuted with hit movies Backrooms and Obsession, respectively, for embracing practical moviemaking effects and rejecting AI.
In fact, the famous director sees a broader trend among younger generations of dismissing “AI slop.” That’s why Nolan’s not worried about the future of filmmaking.
“I’ve never seen a more rapid wholesale dismissal of a supposedly foundational jump in technology in my lifetime,” Nolan said in the interview.
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“So much energy has been expended on bringing in AI, but if you look at that generation’s reaction, they’re utterly rejecting it.”
His 4 young adult children are also extremely critical towards AI, it seems, with Nolan saying: “Their judgment of AI slop has been immediate and harsh. They see it for what it is very quickly – and it’s much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well.”
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Nolan is quick to add that not every aspect of the technology is useless: some things are almost begging to be automated. But the director is seeing a very real backlash in filmmaking.
“After years of driving towards heavily virtual environments, we’re seeing a renewed interest in more tactile, more real forms of storytelling,” says the director.
So much energy has been expended on bringing in AI, but if you look at that generation’s reaction, they’re utterly rejecting it,Christopher Nolan
Nolan’s not the only elite director who despises AI. Last year, when asked about generative AI, his colleague Guillermo Del Toro replied with a short message: “I’d rather die.”
However, another acclaimed director, Martin Scorsese, endorsed an AI startup last month and said he was using its tech to help storyboard his movies.
And a few weeks later, A24, a prominent independent film production company, announced an AI research partnership with Google. Fans and filmmakers have called the $75 million deal “disappointing.”
“It’s quite disappointing that a company that just enjoyed the triumphant box office returns of staunchly anti-AI Kane Parsons’ Backrooms would make such a deal,” said actor and director Justine Bateman.
“All A24 directors should prepare to have your films altered against your wishes with this deal.”
According to a Gallup poll, young people’s resentment has grown significantly in the past year, with 48% of Gen Zers believing the risks of AI in the workforce outweigh its benefits.
