Danny Boyle has explained how Ink, his drama about Rupert Murdoch and the launch of The Sun, put Margaret Thatcher on screen. Speaking at a BFI London Film Festival event, he said an actor played the scene and AI then swapped Thatcher's face in.
The scene has her visiting editor Larry Lamb's office late at night, whisky in hand and shoes off. Boyle said he wanted it to be her rather than an imitator, and that he did not ask her estate for permission, arguing estates should not control how art treats a figure's influence.
Dark Horizons' lead picture for its report on Boyle confirming AI use in Ink
Image: Dark Horizons
He had already told Vanity Fair that about 30 seconds of the film use AI, animating old photographs of Thatcher and the Kray twins, plus some newsroom mice. He called AI a useful tool if used respectfully and actors are paid when replaced, and said it cost no one work on this film.
Ink reaches cinemas on 11 December and Netflix on 8 January. Boyle added that a third 28 Years Later film is on the back burner while funding is sought.
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