'Backrooms' director Kane Parsons rejects AI in filmmaking
What's the story
Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director of the record-breaking A24 film Backrooms, has spoken out against the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in Hollywood. He called its impact "genuinely harmful consequences" and said that he doesn't see a place for it in the future of filmmaking. "If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would," he told The Australian.
Creative process
'What interests me more is interrogating it artistically'
Parsons further explained his stance against generative AI, saying, "Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me." Despite his dislike for AI in the creative process, he is interested in exploring it as a subject matter in his future projects. "What interests me more is interrogating it artistically," he explained.
Artistic exploration
'We already live in a world where...'
Parsons said, "We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That's become part of our visual reality." "To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot," he said. "I'm interested in using that iconography in art - not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents."
Career path
Self-taught filmmaker instead relies on CGI tools
Parsons recently spoke to Deadline from the editing bay of Backrooms, where he was finalizing the film with his VFX team. They used Blender, a free CGI tool that Parsons learned on a "fairly crummy laptop" in middle school. He picked up skills through YouTube tutorials and other software obtained "through means that I won't say out loud."