Australian filmmaker George Miller, best known for helming the ever-growing Mad Max franchise full of practical effects and marvelous sets, has shocked fans by taking part in an upcoming Australian AI film festival.
The director is set to lead the judging panel at Australia’s first AI movie awards festival, Omni 1.0 AI film festival. However, despite the current and lengthy debate surrounding AI use in the film industry, Miller doesn’t seem to be afraid to show support for AI in movies.
“AI is arguably the most dynamically evolving tool in making moving image,” said Miller in an interview with The Guardian. “As a film-maker, I’ve always been driven by the tools. AI is here to stay and change things.”
The director admitted he first joined the jury out of “intense curiosity,” but now sees the AI movement as a modern-day renaissance, where, instead of oil paint giving artists “the freedom to revise and enhance their work over time,” it’s AI. “It’s the balance between human creativity and machine capability, that’s what the debate and the anxiety is about,” added Miller. “It strikes me how this debate echoes earlier moments in art history.”
According to the official Omni Film Festival site, the bi-annual film festival is “a snapshot of what is possible in the world of Generative and Artificial Intelligence-powered video and film creation.” The event will consist of “AI film screenings, panels, and networking,” with the winning films shown at the end of the festival.
However, despite Miller promising he will look out for so-called “AI-slop,” some fans are not happy with his involvement. “Yeah, it stings when a creative you like says it,” replied one Twitter user after Culture Crave shared the Guardian’s article on the platform. Another added, “This perspective from George Miller, while optimistic, feels a little naive.”