Mathieu Kassovitz Champions AI as Cinema's Future at Cannes Festival
At the second World AI Film Festival in Cannes, acclaimed director Mathieu Kassovitz made bold predictions about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the film industry. The La Haine filmmaker, currently working on an AI-enabled project, asserted that within a few years, audiences will embrace AI-generated actors without hesitation.
AI Actors Set to Become Superstars
Kassovitz, 58, who won three César awards for his 1995 masterpiece La Haine, described AI as "the last artistic tool we need." He dismissed widespread concerns over copyright infringement with a blunt statement: "Fuck copyright." The director argued that all art is derivative, citing his own influences from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, who borrowed from Akira Kurosawa and Sergei Eisenstein.
He revealed that recent advancements in AI have produced human-like characters with genuine emotional depth, noting one instance where an AI-generated face displayed "an emotion in his eyes that made me shiver." Kassovitz predicted that AI superstars with millions of followers will soon exist, accessible via smartphones for interactive promotions.
Contrasting Views in the Film World
His enthusiastic endorsement comes amid a divided industry. The main Cannes Film Festival recently banned AI-generated films from its official competition, with president Iris Knobloch stating that AI "imitates very well, but it will never feel deep emotions." However, Kassovitz countered that public perception will shift rapidly, claiming "in two years from now nobody will care" whether characters are AI or human.
Kassovitz is establishing an AI film studio in Paris, likening it to George Lucas's creation of Industrial Light and Magic. He paused his adaptation of The Beast is Dead, a 1940s comic book, to integrate AI technology, which he says will cut visual effects costs from $50-60 million to $25 million.
Hollywood's Embrace and Backlash
Hollywood studios are increasingly investing in AI, with figures like Paramount boss David Ellison calling it "transformative across all aspects of the business." Recent examples include an AI-generated version of the late actor Val Kilmer in a new film trailer, approved by his estate.
Yet critics warn that AI-enabled cinema lacks soul and threatens jobs for actors, composers, and other creatives. Legal battles are mounting, with nearly 140 copyright cases pending against AI companies in the US and Germany. German copyright lawyer Tim Kraft emphasized the need for tech giants like Google and OpenAI to compensate for using copyrighted material.
Despite the controversy, Kassovitz remains unwavering, though he acknowledged he would sue if someone misused his work. His vision paints a future where AI not only reduces costs but democratizes filmmaking, allowing more diverse stories to be told.
