A London cinema has canceled the world premiere of a film with a script generated by AI following public backlash.
The Prince Charles Cinema, located in London’s West End and known for screening cult and art films, was set to host a screening of a new film titled The Last Screenwriter on Sunday. However, the cinema announced on social media that the event would be canceled.
In their statement, the Prince Charles Cinema explained: “The feedback we received over the past 24 hours after announcing the film highlighted significant concerns from many in our audience regarding the use of AI in place of a human writer. This reflects a broader issue within the industry.”
Directed by Peter Luisi and featuring Nicholas Pople, The Last Screenwriter is a Swiss film that portrays the story of “a celebrated screenwriter” who is shaken when he encounters an advanced AI scriptwriting system.
He soon discovers that the AI not only matches his skills but surpasses him in empathy and understanding of human emotions. The screenplay is credited to “ChatGPT 4.0,” a model released by OpenAI in May.
Luisi told the Daily Beast that the cancellation followed 200 complaints but confirmed that a private screening for the cast and crew would still occur in London.
He commented: “I think people don’t fully understand the project. They hear ‘first film written entirely by AI’ and react negatively without learning more about it.
If screenwriters take the time to watch the film and understand the process and purpose behind it, I don’t think they’ll condemn us or me, as I’m one of them. I hope this film contributes positively to the conversation.”
The use of AI in the film industry continues to be a contentious issue. During last year’s Hollywood writers’ strike, one of the main demands was for formal protections regarding the use of AI tools in scriptwriting.
The agreement reached allowed AI to generate script drafts, but writers would retain credit for their work.
Additionally, concerns about performance cloning were raised by Scarlett Johansson’s complaint regarding the use of a voice replica by ChatGPT, which the AI company subsequently withdrew.
