Highlights
- Tim Burton, a Hollywood legend known for his gothic style, has expressed his strong concern about the use of AI technology to replicate his iconic artistic style in Disney characters.
- Burton feels that AI takes something from the artist’s soul or psyche, likening it to a robot taking away humanity and essence.
- The use of AI in the creative industry has sparked negative feelings and resistance among many professionals, who see it as a way to undermine their involvement and artistic contributions.
Tim Burton weighed in on the current trend of Artificial Intelligence in the art sphere and how he feels about the technology used to replicate the iconic style that has become his calling card and legacy.
Burton has been a central pillar of goth integration into the Hollywood film industry for decades, with his most popular work including iconic films like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and stop motion masterpiece Corpse Bride, all staples of early gothic and horror film media. Additionally, Burton has also lent his unique sensibilities to other genres and IPs, including directing the sci-fi Planet of the Apes and two DC projects in 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, the former of which has gotten the silent movie treatment via a fan-made tribute to the director and his work.
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Despite being a traditional creative, the Hollywood legend has recently been forced to address AI invading creative spaces, a threat partially responsible for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike that recently concluded. Speaking to The Independent about a story from Buzzfeed released earlier in the year in which AI was used to render Disney characters in his iconic style, the filmmaker had quite a strong opinion. “They had AI do my versions of Disney characters!” Burton remarked. “I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul.’”
The article featured AI-generated images of Frozen‘s Elsa and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty done up in Burton’s signature modern gothic style, with the filmmaker admitting that the photos were good. “What it does is it sucks something from you,” Burton said despite his admission. “It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.” The use of AI has inspired similarly negative feelings in others within the industry, as expressed when a Mandalorian cast member detailed being pressured into getting digitally scanned for use by AI.
Hollywood companies using AI to undermine the involvement of those who make projects a reality has been foretold, most famously in an episode of Bojack Horseman that predicted the AI strategy 8 years ago. Burton’s comments are simply the latest in what has become a consensus among those who create the projects that have made Hollywood what it is today. Staying the wave of this worrying trend was an essential target of both strikes.
Source: The Independent