Photo: Collected
Taking part in the San Sebastian Film Festival, Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard has spoken openly about the rapidly changing landscape of the film industry and the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cinema. Returning to the festival for the world premiere of her new film ‘7h40 ce jour-la’ five years after winning the prestigious Donostia Award, she discussed the dominance of OTT or streaming-based platforms and AI technology on the silver screen. She joked that even though AI is spreading, today’s artificially intelligent fictional or virtual actors are extremely lifeless and their acting is ‘like a potato’.
The actress also expressed some relief, remarking that it is still quite easy to tell the difference between a real and an artificial actor.
At the press conference, Marion Cotillard said that the day emotions and feelings are stirred in her by watching an AI actor’s performance, she will truly be very frightened. For now, watching them act, it seems as if they are standing there as potatoes, and that is what is giving her relief. However, she admitted that thoughts such as whether something like that will really happen one day, whether she will one day be fooled like this by an AI actor, also make her somewhat apprehensive.
Marion’s clear stance on artificial intelligence also chimes with the recent remarks of Hollywood star Tom Cruise. Recently, the star of ‘Mission: Impossible’ fame said in a conversation with Bafta host Edith Bowman that human beings’ own creativity has a unique and inviolable place in filmmaking. Even if artificial intelligence becomes a big part of the industry in future, audiences will always give priority to people’s real acting and the work of genuine artistes.
Marion has joined the premiere of director Nicole Garcia’s film ‘7h40 ce jour-la’ at the San Sebastian festival. The film is in the race for the festival’s top honour, the ‘Golden Shell’, for which a total of 17 films are competing. The film’s central theme – a woman named Elise comes to a quiet small town, starts working at the local cafe and easily blends into the ordinary lives of others. But her arrival is not accidental; she has come there drawn by Milo, a young mechanic working at a garage nearby. Although Elise is a stranger to Milo, to Elise, Milo is a bond from the past she left behind. When old suppressed tension and strain rear their heads again, both arrive at a difficult turning point – is it possible to mend a relationship that broke many years ago?
In this film, Theodore Pellerin, Artus, Laure Calamy, Alexis Manenti, Anne Brochet, Eric Elmosnino and Charles Berling have acted alongside Marion Cotillard in other lead and important roles.
