Batman (1989) director Tim Burton, in an interview with The Independent very recently, talked about his upcoming film, Beetlejuice 2, which will expand the story further on Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice which was released in 1988.
Burton has also directed iconic Disney films as well, such as Alice in Wonderland (2010), the animated Frankenweenie in 2012, and the very recent, Dumbo, in 2019.
A Buzzfeed story in early July this year posted more than a dozen images that were created with the help of Artificial Intelligence, and the pictures were of iconic Disney characters, like Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin, and more.
The Independent, in the middle of the interview, diverted Burton’s attention to the post that had been doing the rounds on the internet to know what he felt about them. He felt his soul had been snatched away.
Tim Burton’s Work Reimagined Using AI Left Him Devastated
Burton mentioned that he considered Artificial Intelligence to be a threat to creativity and animation as one of the major issues arising in recent times is AI taking over people’s jobs and imitating previous works of some legendary creators.
The director’s distinctive style of filmmaking was remarked by the publisher of Buzzfeed’s story saying that, Tim Burton should ‘remake’ all Disney films.
Burton said to The Independent –
“They had AI do my versions of Disney characters… It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul.’”
Though he could not go without praising the images calling some of them “very good,” he felt that AI posed a risk to the original creations.
Tim Burton on AI Images Sucking Out His Soul
Messing with the intellectual property of a creator isn’t exactly a very ethical thing to do, and Burton did press on that. Elaborating more on how he felt seeing the images, he said that they directly impacted his soul.
The AI-generated images, according to Burton, disturbed him mainly due to the fact that they didn’t involve a human experience.
Sharing more on the issue, he said to The Independent –
“What it does is it sucks something from you. It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.”
Coming out with Beetlejuice 2 next year, it may not take long for another internet user or publication to reimagine those characters with AI.
Beetlejuice 2, starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe, is set to release on September 6, 2024.
Source: The Independent
