Christopher Nolan is making the case that young audiences are the film industry's best defense against AI-generated filmmaking.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, the two-time Oscar winner singled out Obsession director Curry Barker and Backrooms director Kane Parsons as proof that cinema is heading to a great, non-AI place.
"I think cinema is vital and essential and continues to transform itself," Nolan said. "We've got all these great new young voices in movies, making the medium their own and moving it forward."
Nolan connected that success directly to a generational revolt against artificial intelligence in filmmaking. "I've never seen a more rapid wholesale dismissal of a supposedly foundational jump in technology in my lifetime," he admitted. "So much energy has been expended on bringing in AI, but if you look at that generation's reaction, they're utterly rejecting it."
The director went further, arguing that Gen Z is uniquely positioned to spot the difference. "Their judgment of AI slop has been immediate and harsh. They see it for what it is very quickly — and it's much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well,” he explained.
"While that doesn't mean that every aspect of the technology is useless or meaningless, in filmmaking, it's hitting at exactly the wrong time. After years of driving towards heavily virtual environments, we're seeing a renewed interest in more tactile, more real forms of storytelling."
Nolan’s appreciation for Barker and Parsons comes amidst a tremendous amount of success for their films. Obsession, released May 15 on a production budget of $750,000, has grossed more than $400 million globally. Backrooms stands as A24's highest-grossing film across several countries and has surpassed $350 million globally.
Nolan also pushed back against the long-running claim that Gen Z lacks the patience for slower, longer films. "This is why I never bought into the arguments that young audiences' attention spans are too fried to enjoy a three-hour Greek epic," he said. "Those films are so mysterious and ruminative. I mean, parts of Backrooms are like David Lynch at his most obscure. And yet young people can't get enough of them."
Nolan also revealed a somewhat shocking secret. The director, who's a master of sci-fi and action films, admitted that he'd direct a horror movie. "I'd love to do a horror movie, but it's all about the idea," he said. "It's all about: Is there a story that really compels you?"
The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and others, opens in theaters on July 17.
