Steven Soderbergh Used AI in a Film about John Lennon's Last Interview
Director Steven Soderbergh is working on a documentary based on the latest interview with British rock musician, former member of The Beatles John Lennon. Some of the film's scenes were created using artificial intelligence (AI). All the details are in the Izvestia article.
"John Lennon: The Last Interview": the basis of the documentary
The film is based on an exclusive audio interview recorded a few hours before the musician's death on December 8, 1980. In it, Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono discuss the Double Fantasy album, talk about art, parenthood and plans for the future.
Soderbergh sought to preserve the structure of the original conversation, reducing its duration from almost three hours to an acceptable timekeeping.
"[manager/producer] Michael Sugar called me and said that there was a chance to make a documentary based on this interview that John and Yoko gave on the day he was shot. And he asked if I was interested? The producer who controls these rights contacted him, and I listened to the interview and said yes," he said in an interview with Deadline.
The director noted that the project received the support of Lennon's family, and the sound quality of the recording turned out to be amazingly good. According to Soderbergh, he wanted to offer viewers the most intimate access to the thoughts of two great artists.
The role of AI in the John Lennon movie
According to Soderbergh, the creators currently have a version of the film in which the only gaps are in the places where John and Yoko talk about abstract philosophical things.
That makes up about 10% of the whole movie, but it's a real problem because we need to come up with something - some images that would reinforce what they're saying, but at the same time be metaphorical.
As a result, the team began experimenting with artificial intelligence in an attempt to create images that would be combined with text. The project's partner was the Meta Corporation (recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). According to Soderbergh, the company agreed, offering the film to be a project in which some of the new AI tools will be tested for the first time.
The director emphasized that he uses AI solely as a creative tool, and not to simulate reality. Soderbergh stated that he did not intend to "revive" the musician, but created surreal images that were impossible to shoot.
One of the episodes is a scene in which a group of one—year-old babies in 60s clothes are crying their hearts out; this is a way to comically illustrate what John is talking about. You can't film this. And even if you could do it somehow-come up with some excuse for filming a group of one—year-old babies in tai-tai patterned clothes, crying their hearts out—even if you did, if people knew it was real, it wouldn't be funny. And we were trying to make a joke here.
The musician's son Sean Lennon also supported the use of new technologies in the documentary project. He expressed confidence that his father, who was always interested in new technologies, would have been enthusiastic about the possibilities of artificial intelligence.
John Lennon: career in The Beatles, personal life, death
John was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool to Alfred and Julia Lennon. The future musician was raised by his maternal aunt Mimi Smith.
Young Lennon found his vocation in music. At the age of 16, he formed the rock band The Beatles, which included four members — Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon himself. Subsequently, the band gained worldwide fame.
In the 1960s, The Beatles were the leading innovators of rock music. Compositions such as Yesterday, Strawberry Fields Forever and Eleanor Rigby have not only become immortal compositions, but have also changed the very nature of writing music. Many believed and continue to claim that The Beatles changed the course of rock and roll and transformed the youth culture of that time.
However, the band did not last long — Lennon left the band in the fall of 1969, and McCartney left in 1970.
After leaving The Beatles, Lennon actively collaborated with Yoko Ono, a representative of the renowned Japanese avant-garde, and their joint work was based on the idea of art without falsehood. In 1969, the couple got married. In 1975, Lennon and Ono had a son, Sean, after which the musician left his career for a while, devoting himself to his family.
In December 1980, the musician was shot dead by fan Mark Chapman at the entrance to his Manhattan home. The tragedy occurred just a few hours after the recording of the interview, which became the foundation for Soderbergh's new film. Despite the death of the artist, he and his contribution to music continue to have a significant impact on world culture.
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