A hard-action sci-fi/horror film that aims for theatrical release and awards kudo claims production entirely with artificial intelligence. AI crafted the lifelike backgrounds and characters in “Gods Don’t Give Gifts,” which just released a full trailer that is rich with eye-candy visuals (see screen grab above).
The full-length movie, a landmark in the technology and AI revolutions, is independently produced by YouTube influencer Zach London/Gossip Goblin, and AI-focused Fable Studio in London.
“The filmmakers say the theatrical engagement will be a milestone for a fully-AI feature,” says a Deadline.com story by Dade Hayes. The story adds that “Gods Don’t Give Gifts” is “the first AI film to receive an MPA rating (R) and also to be campaigned in the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards.”
The MPA is major-movie studio trade-group (the Motion Picture Association), which co-administers the Classification and Rating Administration that provides audience-suitability evaluations.
The awards ambitions will be an uphill battle because Hollywood creative talent (actors, writers and cinematographers) risk being replaced by AI. So, the Hollywood creative community that votes for most awards doesn’t look kindly upon AI.
Where “Gods Don’t” enters animation awards consideration, its competition will overwhelmingly be family fare, which will make for interesting comparisons given its hard-edge content. It’s not clear if the Oscars will accept the movie for awards consideration, given its AI pedigree.
The new trailer is richly produced and does not feel computer-generated (seems like real-life), presenting out-of-this-world characters. While impressive with eye-candy, the trailer comes up short in laying out a compelling story, which is a must for great movies.
And remember whatever production values delivered today, AI will improve in the future. It’s still just early days.
“Gods Don’t” was screened last month at the Venice (Italy) Film Festival market, and aims for a Dec. 4 cinema release in the U.S. and UK. There already is a lively marketing-focused website and a one-sheet poster, though that poster image of a full-frame screaming face is hard to grasp.
The poster’s key copyline, “When Do We Stop Being Human,” presumably plays off being an AI-produce movie.
The title is also a head-scratcher. It doesn’t really establish the genre to audiences, which is important because this is original intellectual property. The reference to “Gods” can be interpreted at first glance as suggesting the movie is in the sword-and-scandal biblical or contemporary spiritual/religious categories, and not its actual sci-fi horror genre. Another poster features a gorilla-like character is better with a comprehensible focus that emanates personality from the gorilla.
There is no theatrical distributor yet, so the fast-approaching Dec. 4 premiere is an ambition more than a firm date. “Gods Don’t” can self-distribute, though such films typically struggle for an effective presence in marketplace. With self-distribution, theaters are cautious because they worry the marketing campaign will be unprofessional and herky-jerky. December is a desirable cinema-release date to qualify for awards, but is congested so difficult to book cinemas.
The producers have generated much good-quality marketing material, which any third-party distributor designated later will presumably use. The film is truly an indie-sector creation given no early tie to long-established movie companies.
The film’s producer is Fable Studio in the UK, which is led by Edward Saachi, the son of a world-famous British advertising-agency tycoon. Amazon is an investor in Fable.
It’s also noteworthy that “Gods Don’t” continues the trend of online influencers expanding into traditional Hollywood. Two cinema-hit horror films “Obsession” and “Backrooms” were created by Youtubers who were new to Hollywood. Those films emerged as unheralded sleepers in their theatrical releases earlier this year.
Also, post-apocalyptic thriller “Iron Lung” generated a surprise $41 million in domestic boxoffice earlier this year; creator YouTuber Mark Fischbach (known online as Markiplier) was masterful in using his online media to sell cinema tickets.
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