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Maggie Gyllenhaal explains why she rejected AI in her Marilyn Monroe film

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal said she abandoned generative video AI in her short film about Marilyn Monroe because it did not work effectively.
  • She said footage of Dakota Johnson portraying Monroe felt more moving, human and alive than the AI-generated material.
  • The comments highlight current limitations of video AI and wider concerns in the film industry about its effect on jobs.

Maggie Gyllenhaal said she dropped generative video AI from her short film about Marilyn Monroe because the technology “basically did not work.”

Basically it did not work.

· Maggie GyllenhaalGyllenhaal explained why she abandoned generative video AI in the film.

Gyllenhaal, who is presiding over this year’s Venice Film Festival jury, presented the 17-minute film, “Flesh Impact,” at the festival. Dakota Johnson plays Monroe during the star’s peak years, while Ellen Burstyn portrays her at an older age in an imagined version of what Monroe’s life might have looked like had she not died in 1962.

Gyllenhaal said the people who commissioned the project asked her to use AI. The team used licensed technology trained on Monroe films for which they held the rights. She agreed to try it, saying she was curious to see what it could do.

The people who commissioned this project asked me to use AI.

· Maggie GyllenhaalShe described how the technology entered the production.

After extensive work, however, she discarded the material. Gyllenhaal said Johnson’s performance as Monroe proved “much more moving, human, alive” than what the system produced. Her comments point to the current limits of AI video, a technology that has prompted concern across the audiovisual industry over its potential impact on employment.

What came out with Dakota playing Marilyn Monroe was much more moving, human, alive.

· Maggie GyllenhaalGyllenhaal compared Johnson’s performance with the AI-generated footage.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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