AI Startup Fable Takes On Lost Orson Welles’ Masterpiece The Magnificent Ambersons: A Tech Demo or an Insult to Creative Genius?
A groundbreaking AI company, renowned as the “Netflix of AI,” has unveiled an audacious project to reconstruct the missing 43 minutes from Orson Welles’ classic film, “The Magnificent Ambersons.” The firm, yet to be named, has developed a platform that enables users to create cartoons using AI prompts. Initially, the company is working with its own intellectual property but aims to extend this technology to Hollywood IP in the future.
Notably, the platform has been utilized to generate unauthorized “South Park” episodes. The company’s latest AI model promises to produce intricate narratives spanning extended periods. Over the next two years, filmmaker Brian Rose, who has dedicated five years to digitally restoring Welles’ original vision, intends to leverage this technology to recreate the lost footage from “The Magnificent Ambersons.”
However, it’s essential to note that the company has not secured the rights to the movie, making this a potential tech demo unlikely to be released publicly.
One may question why “Ambersons,” given its less renowned status compared to Welles’ other works. Even among classic film enthusiasts, “Ambersons” is often overshadowed by “Citizen Kane.” While the latter is frequently hailed as the greatest movie ever made, the former is remembered as a lost masterpiece that was severely altered by the studio and concluded with an unconvincing happy ending.
The film’s reputation—the sense of loss and the potential greatness it represented—appears to have piqued the company’s interest. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to underscore that our current fascination with “The Magnificent Ambersons” is due to Welles himself—his career-altering experience with the film, and how even in its truncated form, it showcases his extraordinary filmmaking prowess.
Unfortunately, the company seems to have overlooked reaching out to Welles’ estate. David Reeder, who manages the estate for Welles’ daughter Beatrice, described the project to Variety as an attempt to generate publicity on the back of Welles’ creative genius. He further stated that it would amount to nothing more than a purely mechanical exercise without any of the innovative thinking associated with a creative force like Welles.
Despite Reeder’s criticism, he seems less concerned about the project’s intent to recreate “Ambersons” and more disappointed by the lack of communication regarding the project. He noted that the estate has already embraced AI technology for voice modeling intended for brand collaborations.
While Welles fans are accustomed to other filmmakers attempting to posthumously fix or complete his works using existing footage, this new approach combines AI and traditional filmmaking techniques. Reportedly, some scenes will be reshot with contemporary actors whose faces will then be replaced with digital recreations of the original cast.
Despite the controversy surrounding announcing a project like this without the film rights or Welles’ daughter’s blessing, Rose appears driven by a genuine desire to honor Welles’ vision. For example, in a statement about his motivation for the project, Rose lamented the destruction of “a four-minute-long, unbroken moving camera shot whose loss is a tragedy,” with only 50 seconds of the shot remaining in the recut film.
While I sympathize with Rose’s sense of loss, I also believe that AI cannot resurrect what was lost during the destruction of Welles’ original vision. No matter how convincingly the company may recreate its version of that tracking shot, it will not be Welles’ shot, featuring digital replicas of Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead instead of the actual actors. Their final product will not be the version of “The Magnificent Ambersons” that RKO destroyed over 80 years ago. Barring a miraculous discovery of lost footage, that version may remain forever elusive.
