The Magnificent AI-mbersons

I’ve talked about AI before, and my feelings stay the same—it should not be used blindly in the creative world.

One thing I haven’t talked about is how much of a fan I am of Orson Welles. I have conflicted feelings about a project that’s currently in the works. Someone is attempting to rebuild the missing 43 minutes of footage from The Magnificent Ambersons. For those who don’t know, the studio didn’t like Welles’s version of the movie, re-cut it with a happier ending, and destroyed the footage. Over the years, he left detailed notes of what had been shot and how he envisioned the movie. Those working on the “restoration” project are filming actors portraying the original actors, then using deepfakes and AI to rebuild the performances. The reason it’s a bit of a gray area for me is that it’s a little more of a closed loop. They’re using the original footage, voices, and locations from the shoot as the source material. It doesn’t feel all that different from CGI in this case—artists are still involved in getting things right, and it’s a tool using information from the original director.

What is less cool is that the company allegedly doesn’t have permission from the Welles estate to do any of this work, and that’s where this breaks down for me. On the flipside, Welles didn’t ask for his film to be destroyed.

I for sure think about this when it comes to the missing Doctor Who episodes. But then again, what makes a movie or a show what it is? Will a deepfake performance match the choices that Joseph Cotton would have made? Will the shots be composed in a way Orson Welles or the D.P. would have imagined? Does the music fit the scene? Would CGI be different from AI if used for the same reason?

This reel from The New Yorker explains it and shows some of the footage:
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUlVT6BkTFZ

Anyway, here’s a bunch of Welles-related stuff I’ve seen (there are some gaps, mostly of the Shakespearian variety):

  • Films
    • Citizen Kane
    • The Magnificent Ambersons
    • The Third Man
    • Touch of Evil
    • The Lady from Shanghai
    • Mr. Arkadian/Confidential Report (I’ve seen two of the seven versions)
    • F for Fake
    • Does The Transformers count?
    • (and I’m sure more)
  • Dramatizations
    • The Cat’s Meow
    • RKO 281
    • Mank
    • Me and Orson Welles
    • Cradle Will Rock
    • Ed Wood
  • Docs
    • The Battle Over Citizen Kane
    • Prodigal Sons