Peter Jackson doesn't hate the use of AI in movies

Director Peter Jackson, best known for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, doesn’t “hate” the use of artificial intelligence in film, but he thinks it’s a shame that the AI ​​debate is partly the reason Andy Serkis will probably never win an award for his motion-capture performance as Gollum.

Speaking at a masterclass during the Cannes Film Festival, the day after he was awarded the Honorary Palme d'Or, Jackson said that while AI will "destroy the world," when it comes to its use in film, he has "nothing against it at all."

"To me, it's just a special effect. It's no different than other special effects," the director commented.

However, he stressed that it is "absolutely crucial" to protect the rights of actors so that no one steals their characters and uses them in films without permission.

"If you're making an AI copy of someone, like Indiana Jones or any other character, as long as you've bought the rights from the person whose character you're using, I don't see a problem. The problem arises when someone's identity is stolen and misused," Jackson believes.

However, he believes that the current debate over artificial intelligence in Hollywood is negatively impacting the recognition of motion capture acting, such as Serkis' portrayal of Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and its sequels.

"In the current atmosphere, everyone is so worried about AI... I don't think a character like Gollum or any generated character has any chance of winning awards. It's a bit unfair, especially in Andy's case, because it's not an AI-generated performance, it's 100 percent human acting," the director points out.

Jackson also announced the upcoming film “The Hunt for Gollum,” which Serkis is directing and in which he plays the lead role.

When asked why he left the directing job to Serkis, Jackson said:

"The film is about Gollum's psychology and addiction. I thought, 'Andy knows this character better than anyone.' So I didn't really think about directing it. I thought the most exciting version of this film was the one directed by Andy Serkis."

Jackson was presented with the honorary Palme d'Or by Elijah Wood, star of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, during the festival's opening ceremony.

“You showed the world something it had never seen before, and nothing was ever the same again,” Wood told the director.

"He helped build a whole new film culture at the very end of the world," the actor added.

In his speech, Jackson recalled that the decision to film most of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was a "huge risk," which the media called "madness," predicting that the expensive project could end in disaster if the first film failed.

However, he said that everything changed 25 years ago in Cannes, when he screened 20 minutes of footage from the film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and received enthusiastic reactions from the audience.

"It changed the perception of the film," the director concluded.