George Lucas has said artificial intelligence is the future of filmmaking and criticised Hollywood studios for relying too heavily on focus groups.
He argued that audiences have been given too much influence over the creative process.
On artificial intelligence, the Star Wars creator said the technology made it “much easier for us to make movies”.
“It’s very much like sitting here saying, ‘Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it’s at,” he said, in a conversation with A Rabbit’s Foot.
“These cars, they break down, they need gas, there’s all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they’ll be making them into tanks, and then they’ll be killing people. It’s terrible.’ There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s progress, it’s the future.”
The 82-year-old added that AI could tell you “when something is fake and where it came from”.
He continued: “Humans can’t, we’re not that smart. The whole idea is you’re a human being, you’re responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you’re doing something that’s illegal you should be punished for that. Whatever you do, you should be recognised. It’s just like real life.”
During Hollywood’s 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes, artificial intelligence became a key sticking point as performers and writers sought contractual protections against studios using the technology to generate scripts or create digital replicas without permission.
Actors warned that studios could scan their faces, voices and bodies, then reuse those likenesses in future productions without further consent or payment, while writers argued that AI-generated material threatened both authorship and employment.
Earlier this month, it was announced that controversial AI-generated performer Tilly Norwood will make her feature film debut in Misaligned. Norwood sparked a Hollywood backlash last year when it was rumoured that AI production company Particle 6 was seeking professional representation for the character.
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The Odyssey writer and director Christopher Nolan recently talked about the younger generation’s rejection of AI, especially in filmmaking.
“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,” Nolan explained, clarifying, “And 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.”
Lucas also criticised the way Hollywood uses focus groups and test screenings, saying studios “take the wrong message” from them.
“I don’t like focus groups,” he said. “The audience doesn’t know what they want to see. If they don’t like a character, that’s interesting, and as a filmmaker I want to find out why. But when the studios hear that, they take the wrong message. They let the audience actually make the movie.”
He continued: “Now, it’s all about what the fans think. That isn’t how you make the movie. You make a movie by finding someone that knows how to make movies, that has a story to tell and is passionate about it.”
“You go to the movies because the stories move you emotionally,” he said. “Art is an emotional medium.”
