Use Of AI Art Tempers Enthusiasm And Prompts Controversy For Indie Horror Flick 'Late Night With The Devil'
Late Night With The Devil, an indie horror film that generated buzz after a SXSW showing in March 2023 and has been steadily building interest ahead of a 2024 theatrical release, has found itself in the midst of controversy after viewers spotted and its creators confirmed the brief use of AI art in the movie.
Late Night With The Devil is a found-footage horror about a 1970s late-night television show that brings on a survivor of a satanic cult. The trailer seems to suggest that Exorcist-style shenanigans ensue throughout the film.
While the film was generating a lot of hype ahead of its theatrical release this weekend, some users on Twitter / X spotted that a piece of art used to advertise the fictional TV show of the film was AI-generated.
The filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes confirmed to Variety that the images were AI-generated as well.
The AI-generated piece appears very briefly in the film, but it has sparked a wave of debate between AI hardliners who now refuse to see the movie and those who still have expressed interest in seeing it.
For some, the use of AI is barely noticeable, and it shouldn't overshadow the work done by the entire cast and crew of the film.
However, others argued that the apparent innocuous use of artificial intelligence made it all the more insidious, as it replaced the type of small art job that they feel needs to be protected.
It's unclear how the backlash surrounding the film's use of AI will affect its performance at the box office when it releases in theaters this weekend. It is also scheduled to stream on Shudder in about a month, and some have expressed hope that the filmmakers will replace the AI pieces in the movie by the time it hits streaming.
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xoxin
You know what I don't like about this? How some are putting the blame on the audience and none on the person who made the choice in the first place.
"Why punish everyone else for one person's decision?"
While I don't necessarily disagree with the logic here, why aren't the filmmakers being called out for making this decision? They are the ones who put their film in jeopardy. They're the ones who chose to use something everyone knows is controversial. And unlike the audience, they actually have some manner of obligation to those they work with.
xoxin
The audience however, owes the film crew nothing. Especially in today's world where find movies, even niche or obscure ones, has never been easier.
It's like not buying a game because of some idiot DLC or something but "the game devs worked hard on it"
xoxin
And to clarify here: I don't have a problem with wanting to see the movie itself despite AI but rather this idea that the film crews are owed someone's business.
Nah, until the money leaves people's wallets, you are not owed anything. Even if someone (bosses) make decisions harmful towards your career.
I also want to note that while individuals themselves might deserve to be rewarded, the product is what's being judged.
Max Paladin
AI art works on the same principle as tracing, but is somehow even lazier. It should never be accepted in commercial use
josieallison
haha
SSmotzer
Is it really so hard for a studio to pay an artist to draw a skeleton?
Geigh Science
god the AI discourse is so fucking tiring at this point
I literally do not care, but I lean on the side of wanting the anti-AI people to kiss my ass even more than its evangelists simply because of how preachy and absolutely insufferable they act all the time.
Kenetic Kups
IKR? how dare people be passionate about their careers and passions are stolen by the parasites /s
Sir Snakeboat
i'm in the camp of "it was stupid to include ai, but everyone who worked on the movie shouldn't suffer because of a couple people making a stupid choice"
furthermore, i feel it's pretty stupid to argue "what about the small film crew/actors?!" and state that you're boycotting the movie entirely, therefore causing even more issues for every small film crew/actor who worked on that movie.
i'll admit right out of the gate that this isn't based on personal experience or intimate knowledge of the film creating process, but i feel like it would be harder to successfully enter the film industry if the only thing, or one of the most recent things you worked on was a complete bomb, rather then if you had no prior works in the first place. so it feels self-defeating to state that you're boycotting a small film because "won't someone think of the small film crew/actors?!" since that would harm their ability to actually get anywhere further in their career.
Max Paladin
It sucks for the innocent crew caught in the crossfire, but it's either that or allowing to let it slide and therefore showing big businesses that it's okay to commercially use AI art
Sir Snakeboat
yea it's unfortunate because in this case, how do you separate those 2 outcomes, since that would be the ideal outcome
Boykisser
I don't understand people who get that butthurt over if someone uses ai generated art for something. Like so? Someone used a computer to make a picture, so what, ai things are funny and they act like they killed their dog or something. They should go be upset over something that actually matters and not pictures.
Lord DIO
I don't think its the fact they're upset over AI, rather they're upset its being used to make money when AI is trained off of other people's art who didn't consent or receive compensation for it being used to train said AI. No one is gonna care if AI is used to make a lul image that's shared with friends, but they're gonna have an issue if someone is trying to use it to make a profit.
Luzno Lindo
You are clearly laboring under some serious naïveté if you really think people are just being "butthurt" and that this is okay because "ai things are funny". And do you know what's even sadder? There is no point whatsoever in explaining the finer details of this situation to you, because you are too apathetic to listen. Oh, well.
Luzno Lindo
You must not waste your time on these faceless people who want nothing but to sit back and watch as this situation gets worse and worse. This nobody has never spoken up for anyone when it mattered. And there is no point in waiting for their half-assed response.
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