‘Taxi Driver’ scribe Paul Schrader has ‘perfect script’ for AI film

Unlike much in Hollywood, “Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader is embracing artificial intelligence, saying he has “the perfect script” for what he believes is the “imminent inaugural feature film about AI.”

The 79-year-old screenwriter’s proclamation might look bleak ahead, but for Schrader, AI is not replacing people, “it’s just a tool” – albeit an inevitable one.

“Movies will be less and less two-dimensional. And also, I think they will be more and more AI-based. I think we’re only two years away from the first AI feature,” Schrader told Vanity Fair in a new interview. “I was just on the phone with someone today about a script I had, and I said, ‘You know, this would be the perfect script to do the whole AI.’

When asked if he was ready to fully embrace technology in filmmaking, the “First Reformed” director said he was — as well as in other areas of the industry, like writing film reviews.

“AI is taking over movie coverage… AI is doing better coverage than the average coverage,” he told the outlet. “And AI shouldn’t favor anyone. Often when you’re doing media coverage, you feel like the person who’s paying you wants you to like it. You can’t give that information to AI.”

The “Raging Bull” co-writer’s remarks come amid Hollywood’s growing anxiety over AI, including from “actress” Tilly Norwood, who has reportedly sent talent agents into trouble to get her cast in films and TV shows.

The use of “artists” like Norwood has sparked the latest wave of protests from the SAG-AFTRA union, which worries that AI creations end up pushing real-life actors out of the industry, while those behind them profit from the past performances of unpaid stars.

“The union is opposed to replacing human artists with synthetics,” the union said in late September. “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, he is a character generated by a computer program who was trained on the work of countless professional artists – without permission or compensation. He has no life experience to draw on, no emotions and, from what we have seen, audiences are not interested in watching computer-generated content with no connection to the human experience.”