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Steven Soderbergh to incorporate AI in Spanish-American War film
Soderbergh is diving into late 19th century while embracing futuristic technology for his upcoming film
As Steven Soderbergh explores the late 19th century, he’s making significant advances toward the future to bring his next film to life.
The Academy Award winner recently mentioned his intention to utilise “a lot of AI” for his forthcoming movie about the Spanish-American War, which he describes as “an amazing story” with Wagner Moura set to play the lead.
“It’s a fantastic tale, and it’s quite overlooked,” he shared with Filmmaker Magazine. “With each passing day, it becomes increasingly relevant.”
Soderbergh explained, “I just need to get the casting right. I have Wagner Moura on board. I need a few more actors. Two studios are interested, but the main concern is the budget. However, with the ideal cast, the film will become an event everyone wants to experience right away, instead of waiting for its streaming release. Making movies is particularly challenging at this time.”
As he wraps up his John Lennon and Yoko Ono documentary, Soderbergh also mentioned he has “been engaging with AI recently” in film creation. “It's worth exploring how this technology can excel in certain areas,” he remarked.
“AI has been instrumental in generating artistically abstract images that exist more in a dreamlike realm instead of a literal one,” noted Soderbergh.
“And that’s been an enjoyable process because instructing it requires a deep literary understanding. Much like any tool, it demands meticulous human oversight.”
Soderbergh stated that 90% of the documentary consists of archival photos, but “10 minutes distributed throughout the 90-minute film feature these unique visual segments we crafted during philosophical discussions. When conversations are abstract, I create these images to visually interpret the essence of their words in a surreal way.”
The integration of AI in the film industry remains a significant point of discussion. At the same time, SAG-AFTRA has supported the Trump administration’s AI policy framework, which urges Congress to pass regulations concerning parental controls, protecting intellectual property rights, First Amendment rights, expanding the AI workforce, allowing data centres to produce their own power, and removing legal restraints that hinder AI advancement.
