Actor and director Mark Wahlberg used an on-stage interview at TechCrunch Disrupt on 16 October to set out where he stands on AI in film. Questioned by TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos, he said the technology belongs in movies when it is used properly, and that he is open to an AI version of himself carrying on his career after him. Analytics Insight places the event in San Francisco.
“people are going to have massive opportunities to watch whatever it is they want, and if there’s a real audience for that, they should be entitled to have what they want to see.”
Mark Wahlberg, actor, at TechCrunch Disrupt · techcrunch.com ↗
His dividing line is between enhancing and replacing. He is against typing an idea into a chatbot, taking the script it returns and shooting it without real actors, but he backs tools that improve work people have already made. His practical example: he may use AI to build out the stadium setting of the upcoming Pete Rose biopic, in which he plays the lead and which he described as a fairly expensive production.
On likeness, he has not visited CAA's Vault, the service that scans an actor's body, face, movements and voice to build digital replicas, but said he would be interested. He would not mind his planned animated series Ted running for decades with an AI version of him if audiences wanted it, and he hopes his children or grandchildren will one day look after his image.
He also pointed to Jurassic Park and The Perfect Storm as high points of effects-led filmmaking, while saying he cares more about the story than the spectacle, and described himself as an entrepreneur and angel investor as well as an actor. Both outlets note that Hollywood is still divided over AI. No deal, project or timetable was reported; what he offered was openness, not an announcement.
Sources · 2