Venice Film Festival jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal has revealed that she abandoned an artificial intelligence experiment designed to transform Dakota Johnson into Marilyn Monroe for her short film Flesh Impact, states Variety.
Gyllenhaal said the project’s backers had asked her to use licensed AI trained on Monroe’s films. She agreed to test the technology, which placed Monroe’s face over Johnson’s.
However, she eventually discarded the result after finding Johnson’s own performance far more moving and human.
The short film features a 100-year-old Monroe reflecting on her younger years, with Johnson portraying the actress in her 30s.
Gyllenhaal said the AI version failed to capture the emotional qualities that had inspired the project.
“It fundamentally did not work,” she said, adding that the technology removed the humanity from Johnson’s performance.
She also raised concerns about AI’s environmental impact, particularly the energy demands of data centres.
Referring to discussions in South Memphis, she said filmmakers should acknowledge the wider consequences of the technology.
Gyllenhaal also cited warnings from computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, often called the “Godfather of AI”.
Hinton has suggested that AI should be programmed with a maternal instinct, a proposal she described as fascinating but difficult to understand.
The filmmaker further questioned claims that AI would democratise filmmaking.
She argued that the companies promoting the technology are also the ones controlling it and profiting from it.
Gyllenhaal warned that the growing use of AI could eventually make it harder for filmmakers to secure funding for traditionally produced films.
“If you can make a commercial good enough movie for $40,000 or even for $4 million, who’s gonna give you $10 million to do it the old way?” she said.
