Ron Howard appeared at New York’s Alice Tully Hall for a fire-side chat at the Runway AI Festival. And the first question he faced was the one on everyone’s mind. Can AI-generated films actually be made?
He didn’t answer yes or no. Howard thinks there’s a chance they might be successful, but in his estimation that’s up to the film audiences to decide.
The Oscar-winning director of A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon told Runway co-CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela that the technology is “democratizing” filmmaking so that storytellers can “more efficiently, more broadly” tell their stories, but he cautioned that asterisks apply.
He said,
“It’s going to be, again, up to the audiences to determine what appeals, what resonates,”
Howard to Attendees
That cautious, expert tone pervaded the rest of the conversation. Howard said he’s not sure some of the expected efficiencies AI could bring to filmmaking. Things such as faster image generation, lower costs, and quicker editing turnarounds, have yet to be realized despite the “breakthroughs” that have occurred in the technology. “It seemed it’s going to create a lot of efficiencies, but so far I can’t say that I’ve seen it yet in my world,” he said.
He didn’t even shy away from saying that there are concerns. Howard lamented some of the changes AI has brought to the creative community but concluded it’s up to that same community to develop the best legal and cultural safeguards for its use.
Then Added
“It’s all our job to worry about it, think about it, experiment with it, learn from it, and talk to each other and work on it.”
Valenzuela had a more bullish perspective from the other side of the conversation. At a press conference before the Howard conversation, Valenzuela told the crowd he thinks a lot of the content out there is already. AI generated by users, and he does not see it negatively impacting traditional film production.
Howard’s remarks come at a time when many big-name directors are taking very distinct stances. Martin Scorsese recently joined German AI startup Black Forest Labs as an advisor. Steven Soderbergh has spoken multiple times about his use of generative AI. In films such as John Lennon: The Last Interview and an upcoming Spanish-American War film.
Runway AI Festival was originally launched in 2022 as an AI film festival. It has grown over the years into an interdisciplinary showcase. A place where creatives working at the cutting edge of art and technology are experimenting with everything. The New York event once again exemplified that broader range, with Howard as the headline conversation.
Bottom line, at least from Howard’s standpoint, is simple, “Audiences are ultimately going to tell us,” Whether Hollywood listens it’s a different story.
