Here! Now! Not at the end of the decade. Not by 2025's end. Not by Christmas. Now...or maybe in the next 4-6 weeks, to be exact. So what is here? Maybe the biggest labor/collective bargaining issue to hit the film industry ever. The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) better smarten up. A full length AI movie is the subject of this blog today. It also just happens to be a terrifying horror film. I know...no need for actors anymore! That is the first thing, I'm sure, moviemaker B. Harrison Smith hears. Then he has to deal with the criticism that all the human element of this art form is taken out. Yep, the HAL 9000 will make all our movies. Today we are going to look at "Slow Burn" and answer the myths and fears, mostly voiced by those comfortable in today's status quo.
 |
| Sarah French |
To quote Mr. Smith, "This is not about replacing human creativity or 'stealing' art. It's about exploring what happens when you merge human vision with machine capability. I wrote the original script, and AI is the brush I'm painting with to direct it. People once feared CGI, color and talking films, too." How many of you remember the 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain"? The Gene Kelly musical is set in 1925 and explores Hollywood's fears when the first talkie was released, "The Jazz Singer." An entire industry of silent film makers and actors knew they would all be out of work. Initially, however, the thought was we did not need talkies and no one would pay to see them. The years went by and Hollywood stayed put. Actors stayed put, or most of them. Musical scores were enhanced and composers were elevated in status on the movie set. Over all, the introduction of talkies in 1927 did so much good for what we call Hollywood.
 |
| Tony Todd |
"Slow Burn," is less festive and cheerful than "Singin' in the Rain," but Mr. Smith makes horror films. Bob Fosse isn't around anymore to do this with a musical. This grim and ominous story features a hunk 22-yaer old named Michael, and a sultry college dame named Riley (I maintain she looks just like Denise Richards of the early 1990s). The director has describe it as "The Last American Virgin" as a horror film. I saw elements of "Twin Peaks," some Stephen King plot devices, a "John Carpenter's Halloween" type setting, and a contemporary horror element that could spell the doom for many a young person. Irony, satire, and some sweet homages are all blended in to get under your skin. I also saw the brutal train crash when the America from 10 or 20 years ago crashes into the reality of a 22 year old community college kid with little hope at success and fame in a world steeped in its own versions of castes. Madness! Sexual frustration, and or satisfaction! Edgar Allan Poe views toward the female sex! Throw in motifs from those old Boris Karloff films, and we actually have a creepy and disturbing horror film... AI or no AI.
 |
| Cloris Leachman |
"Slow Burn" will not be the feel-good-film of 2025. There are no humorous moments to relieve the tension. In viewing this film you will fall into an abyss that has you plunging into more and more terror the longer you fall. I will say, from the slasher films I was raised on in the early 80s, "Slow Burn" also may be a morality tale. No spoilers here, you'll see...eventually.
 |
| Billy Zane |
Oh, remember Lauren-Marie Taylor, the babe from "Friday the 13th: Part 2"? She's in this. So all of you that say actors and actresses will be forced out...just ask Ms. Taylor. As Mr. Smith fine tunes this film, the ability to recognize it as AI diminishes. I do have to say, does anything about Gary Busey look real when he is in a film? Do the laser blasts at the end of the original "Star Wars" film look anywhere near real? Just saying.
 |
| Dee Wallace |
To not neglect the human element, let's chat about some of the great actors and actresses we love seeing when we go to the movies. Are they going to be gone? Fair question. If they are, the filmmakers will do that exclusion at their own peril. B. Harrison Smith has been able to cast some of our favorite actors and actresses in his past films. Here are just some of them: Sarah French, Barbara Crampton, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Cloris Leachman, Tara Reid, Dee Wallace, Sid Haig, Gunnar Hansen, and Debbie Rochon to name just a few. You will see the likes of Mr. Smith still using this talent, as if they didn't, they would not continue in this industry. By the way, the pics interlaced in this entry are all from Mr. Smith's prior movies.
 |
| Barbara Crampton |
So what has to happen to make the entry into the AI world of filmmaking nice and smooth? The Union (Screen Actor's Guild and a few others) and the execs need a smart discussion of Name, Image, and Likeness agreements. Unlike what is going on in college football, there is so much opportunity here for so many to flourish, not just the 120 actors and actresses on the so-called "A-List." Greed will be a killer, however learning from the mistakes of those who went before you will be a great teacher. Also, the geeks who do code or bring in the AI technology cannot be unsupervised or let loose to their own devices. The writer, the player (actor or actress), the guy who does the score and music, all have to bring this tech guy along. The right brain will need a synergy with the left brain. Remember the scene in "The Right Stuff" when the astronauts insisted the German scientists put a window in the space-capsule?
In 1969 we were all glued in front of our television sets watching man land on the moon, not dogs or monkeys. There was discussion about just keeping space travel for dogs and monkeys...even President Kennedy said "no way" to that. In the realm of AI, the types of films made will run the spectrum. In either case, to make the film palatable to moviegoers, we do need the Debbie Rochon not an almost perfect facsimile of her. This is not a plea decrying AI, but rather a plea to continue the improvements and enhancements made with it.
 |
| Non-CGI Monster |
Trying to keep this entry fairly brief, I will end by saying AI is more than what you imagine it is. Will this be the type of AI that helps cure pediatric cancer, or the Type of AI that has cashiers, and waitresses laid off? This film, "Slow Burn," took great human effort by a filmmaker, writer, actors and actresses, and yes, a guy to grade the color, etc. I'm leaving out a lot. More jobs! More movies! More talent being able to make livings in the movies, not just the top 1%. When "Slow Burn" is available to you, see it! It is scary and gritty, and an example of how the horror experience can be enhanced by inevitable technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment