Jodie Foster: Was Brad Pitt's 'F1' Movie Secretly AI-Scripted?

You know, when Jodie Foster drops a bombshell about a major Hollywood flick, you listen. And recently, she did just that, openly wondering if last year's Brad Pitt racing drama, F1, was actually AI-generated.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival alongside former Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton, Foster didn't mince words. She observed, "The structure was exactly the structure that you would learn in school." For her, the acting even felt... prescribed. "The actors say the lines exactly the way it would be written if a computer was writing exactly what would be the right thing for that time." It’s a bold take, suggesting that the line between human creativity and algorithmic precision might already be blurrier than we think.

Now, Foster isn't exactly hitting the panic button on AI's takeover. In fact, her perspective is surprisingly nuanced. She believes the technology is best for "small helpful things." Take previz, for instance, where film scenes are outlined before production even begins. It's a tool, a utility, she suggests, to enhance rather than replace. She even revealed that AI was utilized for a "dream-like sequence" in her own film, My Private Life, though she candidly admitted the results "made no sense." It’s clear, AI isn’t a magic wand, but it’s definitely a new brush in the artistic toolkit.

However, Foster also highlighted the very real concerns about AI's impact on employment. The fear of AI replacing actors? She points out it’s already happening. Studios are already using technology to replicate background actors for large crowd scenes, effectively cutting out dozens, if not hundreds, of jobs. This leads to a critical discussion about the future of labor in Hollywood.

Her solution, or at least a potential path forward, involves the power of unions. Foster suggests, "we’re getting rid of a lot of jobs and hopefully, things like unions will be able to come in and say, ‘you can use my actor 20 times, but you’re going to pay him 20 times.’ And I think that’s fair." It’s a call for fair compensation and regulation, ensuring that technological advancement doesn’t come at the cost of human livelihoods.

Foster's comments at Aspen weren’t just about F1 or her own projects; they were a broader reflection on humanity's evolving relationship with technology. She summarized her thoughts by saying, "If we are able to dominate AI consistently over..." hinting at the critical need for human control and guidance. The question isn't if AI will shape Hollywood, but how we, as creators and industry professionals, will choose to shape AI.