Summary
- Brad Pitt believes AI could help movies with budgets between $40 million and $90 million get made.
- He sees the technology positively when used as a tool, particularly when it can reduce the cost of visual effects.
- He is more cautious about AI being used to digitally reproduce and replace actors.
- Pitt revealed that for roughly 20 years he required his digital scans to be destroyed after they were used.
- He will return as Cliff Booth in “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher.
Brad Pitt believes artificial intelligence, when used as a tool rather than as a replacement for the creative process, could help more mid-budget movies get made.
The Oscar-winning actor discussed artificial intelligence in filmmaking in an interview with Esquire, arguing that AI technologies could reduce the cost of certain demanding tasks, including visual effects, and make movies with budgets of roughly $40 million to $90 million more viable.
His comments are particularly notable because he distinguishes between using AI as a production tool and using it to digitally replace actors, an issue that has generated significant debate across Hollywood.
AI as a tool for $40 million to $90 million productions
Pitt acknowledged that there is considerable resistance to artificial intelligence, but believes the same technology could prove useful for a category of movies caught between lower-cost productions and major blockbusters.
According to Pitt, if AI is used as a tool, it could help films budgeted between $40 million and $90 million move forward. In areas where traditional visual effects can be especially expensive, the technology could alter the economics of a production.
Pitt described the evolution of AI use in filmmaking as a very interesting experiment, although he does not view all of its potential applications with the same level of optimism.
Can AI replace a performance?
When asked whether artificial intelligence could replicate one of his performances, Pitt focused primarily on the role of the person directing the system.
As he explained, an AI model could theoretically use existing material and adjust a digital version of a performance according to a creator’s instructions. The final result, however, would not necessarily contain the same personal choices, discoveries and spontaneous decisions that the actor himself would make during a real performance.
His observation touches on one of the central questions surrounding generative AI in filmmaking: even if a system can reproduce a person’s appearance or manner of expression, there remains a separate question of who is actually making the creative decisions.
Digital scans and control of his likeness
Pitt also discussed digital body and facial scans, which have been used for years in the film industry for stunt work, battle scenes, digital characters and de-aging techniques.
The actor revealed that he has been digitally scanned for roughly two decades. He said he routinely included provisions in his contracts stating that the files belonged to him and would subsequently be destroyed.
He jokingly admitted that he might have been better off keeping the data, explaining that his previous approach was driven by his strong caution about how the material could potentially be used in the future.
The issue has become even more significant in the AI era because a detailed digital replica of an actor can provide valuable material for future synthetic representations, raising questions about ownership, licensing and control of a person’s likeness.
What he said about AI-generated music
Pitt also said he recently heard an AI-generated song that he considered quite good.
At the same time, he noticed a repetitive quality in the result and stressed that he does not believe such a creation is equivalent to hearing a real human voice.
His position is consistent with what he said about acting: he recognizes the capabilities of the technology while distinguishing technical reproduction from the choices and individual qualities that emerge through human creativity.
Brad Pitt’s upcoming movies
Among Pitt’s upcoming film projects is “Heart of the Beast,” in which he plays a special forces soldier who survives a plane crash with his dog.
He is also returning to the role of Cliff Booth, the character that earned him an Oscar for Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
The new movie is titled “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” and is directed by David Fincher, with a screenplay written by Tarantino. According to Esquire, the project is not being treated exactly as a conventional sequel, but more as another self-contained adventure featuring the same character.
Pitt revealed that after Tarantino decided he did not want the script to become his tenth and final film as a director, Pitt asked permission to show it to Fincher, with whom he previously worked on “Fight Club.” Tarantino agreed and, according to Pitt, Fincher decided to take on the movie after reading the screenplay during a flight they shared.
Personal revelations in the interview
In the same interview, Pitt also discussed his relationship with alcohol, saying that he had remained sober for seven years before beginning to drink again, this time in a more restrained way.
He explained that he can have a few glasses of wine, but believes he needs to remain in control and approach the issue with professional discipline.
The actor also spoke about an exceptionally difficult period in his personal life, which he broadly linked to family matters. He described experiencing such intense emotional pain for a short period that he came to understand how suicide could be perceived as an escape from suffering, while also making clear that he did not intend to act on those thoughts and that his survival instinct quickly took over.
What we think
Brad Pitt’s comments reflect a more nuanced position than a simple choice between being for or against AI. Using artificial intelligence to reduce the cost of certain technical processes could genuinely expand opportunities for smaller and mid-budget productions, but digitally reproducing people raises very different questions about rights, consent and creative control. The crucial issue may ultimately be not only what AI can technically do, but who has the right to use it, with which data and under what conditions.
Frequently asked questions
What does Brad Pitt think about AI in filmmaking?
He believes that when used as a tool, it can help mid-budget productions move forward, particularly by reducing costs in technically demanding areas.
What budget range did he mention?
Pitt referred to movies with budgets of roughly $40 million to $90 million.
Does he believe AI can replace an actor?
He acknowledges that a digital version of a performance could technically be created, but stresses that the result would not necessarily represent the actor’s actual creative choices.
What does he do with his digital scans?
Pitt revealed that for roughly 20 years, he required his contracts to state that his digital scans belonged to him and would subsequently be destroyed.
Which new movie will feature his return as Cliff Booth?
He will return to the character in “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher.
