Everyone Is Clowning on Darren Aronofsky’s Gen AI Show

One of my favorite silly Hollywood stories involves Mickey Rourke working on The Wrestler. Now, to be clear, I’ve only ever heard Jason Mantzoukas. It may be apocryphal. Regardless, we’re gonna go with it. Allegedly, Rourke insisted that his character wear sunglasses in Darren Aronofsky’s hit film about a troubled pro wrestler. The director said no, but Rourke would bring them to set anyway and put them on in the middle of scenes. So, a PA was assigned the job of going to Rourke before takes and asking for any pair of sunglasses he had. Someone should do the same with Arronofsky and his AI generator.

Arronofsky has had an interesting career. He’s a director who has more unrealized projects than films he’s actually directed. The man has made Oscar-nominated films that are held in high regard and Oscar-nominated films that people outright despise (hello, The Whale). His most recent film, Caught Stealing, felt like an odd attempt to make a film exclusively for TNT’s 2 PM Saturday timeslot (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I actually saw that movie in a theater and have barely thought about it or him since.

Then, I saw a hideous-looking trailer yesterday. Well, to be clear, I didn’t think it was a trailer in the traditional sense. It was a striking monstrosity portraying our founding fathers in a ham-fistedly rousing nature, declaring independence and staring blankly into the distance with some of the most lifeless eyes you’ve ever seen. Surely, this had to be the creation of some far-right dweeb living in France but claiming to be from Ohio. Instead, it was a “legitimately” produced product made by Arronofsky for TIME that will be released on their YouTube channel. Woof.

Luckily, I’m not the only one who thinks this looks abhorrent. Folks are watching it and sharing images of coats with too many buttons and men taking off hats only to reveal larger hats. It’s embarrassing, and everyone involved should feel as such, including the SAG actors who apparently lent their voices to the project, according to Variety. Which, like, use your heads, y’all. Using the voices of human actors may give them the “AI is a tool for enhancement, not replacement” nonsense excuse, but also the ability to train their machines on real voices. If this thing has a season 2, I’d bet dollars to donuts that those actors will be replaced by machines.

To top this all off, Aronofsky is giving credence to something that will destroy the careers of those who come after him. He made his award-winning movies, spat out a shaggy thriller, and has now resolved to getting a check by pumping out dreck. He’s pulling up that ladder with a quickness, giving studios an auteur’s approval to generate AI actors and shows and movies. I’d say that the negative reception may scare them away, but every studio executive is one step away from greenlighting a Morbius re-release and should be treated as such.