Overview
- Soderbergh says the John Lennon documentary uses AI only for obviously unreal, illustrative visuals rather than to mimic archival footage or resurrect Lennon.
- He describes comic set pieces—like babies in 1960s outfits and a caveman vignette—as examples of sequences that AI could sketch quickly without pretending to be real.
- Roughly 10% of the film uses generative imagery, and multiple reports say Meta supplied video tools to help finish the project as it heads to Cannes without a distributor.
- He is developing a Spanish–American War feature with Wagner Moura and is considering AI to render 1898 naval battles and fleets that would be too costly with traditional VFX.
- Soderbergh frames his approach as disclosed, limited, and artist-led, a stance arriving as the Academy clarifies Oscars rules on AI and as viewers test their tolerance for synthetic images in nonfiction.