LAS VEGAS—Best known for his work on the “Blade” movies, “The Dark Knight” trilogy and Apple TV’s “Foundation,” writer/producer David S. Goyer is now turning his attention to the future of Hollywood and the impact of artificial intelligence on creativity.
Earlier this year, Goyer announced plans to make the sci-fi movie “Emergence” with Incention, an AI platform that aims to bring artificial intelligence and blockchain to Hollywood. The aim of Incention is to act as a partner to filmmakers, helping them to create narratives and generate full videos.
Speaking at the “AI, Hollywood and the New World of Storytelling” session at NAB Show in Las Vegas, Goyer described himself as a “tech-adjacent” creative. Revealing that he’s been approached a number of times over the last five years by a variety of blockchain and AI companies, he said he chose to work with Incention because of the idea and the people involved.
“I don’t have to do this,” he admitted. “I could continue doing what I’ve been doing, but what I’ve been doing is also frustrating sometimes. I’m interested in disruption, new models and new platforms.
“I’m sort of AI-agnostic,” Goyer added. “I know it’s not going away. I thought it would be interesting to see how I can add a tiny hand in seeing if there are actions and applications where it might be helpful.”
Goyer has been vocal in warning about the dangers of letting AI run amok in Hollywood and where that could lead. “I think there’s been a lot of excitement on the studios’ part that they can train all these AI models on the backs of all the creations we make, and they can just type prompts and create TV shows and movies, and they can lower costs and not have to pay royalties.
“Some of the studios are realizing they can’t do that. So I do think some of the euphoria has come down.”
Building Guardrails
While there is still potential for the doomsday scenario he’s previously warned of, Goyer said he decided to become involved with Incention after realizing that AI is not going away. “In a small way, I can take part in it and see if I can build some guardrails and some use cases that aid the creator, or I can just stick my head in the sand,” he said.
Goyer described AI as an emerging technology that will “absolutely change not just the entertainment industry, but the way we live. We don’t know all the applications where it will be, because they haven’t been invented yet. So, I find it both scary and exciting.”
But despite all the hype around AI and the impact it could have on Hollywood, Goyer believes the technology is a long way from being able to make a film that packs the crowds into a theater. He admitted to having experimented with AI image and text generators, even using one to write a script for Foundation. “It was f***ing awful! It was ridiculous. It didn’t make any sense,” he said.
“But one of the things I have used it for is when I’ve written a three-page scene with a lot of big monologues. I asked AI to give me six different summaries, and it worked. There are definitely use cases where it’s helping me as a creator,” he added.
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