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Director Maggie Gyllenhaal Ditched AI for Marilyn Monroe Film

President of Venezia 83 Competition jury Maggie Gyllenhaal poses on the red carpet on the day of the opening ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
President of Venezia 83 Competition jury Maggie Gyllenhaal poses on the red carpet on the day of the opening ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Director Maggie Gyllenhaal Ditched AI for Marilyn Monroe Film

President of Venezia 83 Competition jury Maggie Gyllenhaal poses on the red carpet on the day of the opening ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
President of Venezia 83 Competition jury Maggie Gyllenhaal poses on the red carpet on the day of the opening ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Actress-director Maggie Gyllenhaal said Friday she had abandoned using AI video-generation technology for her upcoming film about Marilyn Monroe because "it fundamentally did not work."

The American is head of the jury at this year's Venice Film Festival, but she is also premiering her new 17-minute film depicting 1950s screen icon Monroe.

The short movie imagines Monroe as a 100-year-old, with Dakota Johnson playing her before her death in 1962.

"The people who commissioned this project from me asked me to use AI," Gyllenhaal told a panel discussion about AI in Venice.

"They were using licensable AI, training it off of Marilyn Monroe films that we had licensed. And I went for it. I was like, 'All right, I'm curious. I don't know. Let's see'," Gyllenhaal told The Future of Creativity event.

"And it fundamentally did not work. We worked hard at it, and in the end, I threw it away because what was coming through Dakota playing Marilyn Monroe was so much more moving, human, alive."

Her statement underlines the current limitations of AI video technology, which has sparked fears about the impact on jobs throughout the film and TV industries.

The "Dark Knight" actress and director of "The Lost Daughter" also revealed how AI companies are seeking to license the images of actors in order to reproduce them through software.

"Someone who I respect a lot theoretically asked me to consider the idea of asking actors who trust me, because I have a lot of actors who trust me that I love, and they should trust me to give me their likeness and to make a film with them," she said.

"I thought it's completely and absolutely different paradigm than how I think, how I work," she added.

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Entertainment

UK Actor Noel Clarke Pleads Not Guilty to Six Offence Charges

Actor Noel Clarke poses for photographers at the British Academy Film Awards Nominees Party at Kensington Palace in London, Britain February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall
Actor Noel Clarke poses for photographers at the British Academy Film Awards Nominees Party at Kensington Palace in London, Britain February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall
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UK Actor Noel Clarke Pleads Not Guilty to Six Offence Charges

Actor Noel Clarke poses for photographers at the British Academy Film Awards Nominees Party at Kensington Palace in London, Britain February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall
Actor Noel Clarke poses for photographers at the British Academy Film Awards Nominees Party at Kensington Palace in London, Britain February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall

British actor and filmmaker Noel Clarke appeared in a London court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to six charges, including two counts of sexual assault.

Clarke also denied three ‌counts of ‌voyeurism and ‌one ⁠count of exposing himself, ⁠with the allegations spanning 2007 to 2016, Reuters said.

The 50-year-old stood in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court ⁠and spoke only to ‌confirm ‌his name, date of birth ‌and address and ‌enter his not guilty pleas.

He was granted bail ahead of his next ‌appearance at Southwark Crown Court on November ⁠18.

Clarke ⁠is best known for writing and starring in "Kidulthood" (2006), which explored bullying, drug abuse and extreme violence among young people in London, and for a recurring role in sci-fi show "Doctor Who".

Entertainment

Netflix Slides as Weak Profit, Ad Outlook Intensify Investor Anxiety

A man stands next to a logo of Netflix during an event in Mumbai, India, February 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A man stands next to a logo of Netflix during an event in Mumbai, India, February 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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Netflix Slides as Weak Profit, Ad Outlook Intensify Investor Anxiety

A man stands next to a logo of Netflix during an event in Mumbai, India, February 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A man stands next to a logo of Netflix during an event in Mumbai, India, February 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Netflix shares dropped 6% ‌in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company cut its full-year advertising forecast and issued a tepid fourth-quarter profit outlook, deepening concerns about slowing viewership and revenue growth.

The stock has declined more than 26% this year and, if current losses hold, the streaming giant is set to shed about $17 billion of its market value.

The share performance underscores the mounting challenges facing Netflix, from losing a bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery earlier ‌this year to ‌defending its paid subscription model against ‌free ⁠digital rivals and competing ⁠in an increasingly consolidated streaming market.

As viewers shift toward free, user-generated platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, Netflix is also contending with changing preferences in favor of short-form video over premium content.

"Netflix is still the leader in streaming, but the competitive landscape for people's ⁠attention is much broader than streaming alone, ‌particularly with the growth ‌of short-form video," said Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter ‌Cheviot.

The company needs to ensure its content ‌remains compelling enough to keep viewers engaged, rather than simply retaining them as subscribers, Barringer said.

Netflix is also undergoing a restructuring after cutting about 6% of its workforce and reshuffling ‌its leadership team this month.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday the company plans to focus ⁠on its ⁠core business of producing quality TV shows and movies to make Netflix a must-have service, and the recent executive shakeup was a step toward that goal.

At least 14 brokerages have lowered their price targets on the stock after the results, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Netflix trades at nearly 18.28 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, compared with 14.76 times for Walt Disney and 6.26 times for Comcast, underscoring the premium investors place on the streaming giant.

Entertainment

Director Nick Paley Channels Childhood Fears in New Thriller 'Phony'

US director Nick Paley attends the premiere of Hulu's TV series "Phony" at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, on Ocotber 13, 2026. (Photo by Unique Nicole / AFP)
US director Nick Paley attends the premiere of Hulu's TV series "Phony" at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, on Ocotber 13, 2026. (Photo by Unique Nicole / AFP)
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Director Nick Paley Channels Childhood Fears in New Thriller 'Phony'

US director Nick Paley attends the premiere of Hulu's TV series "Phony" at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, on Ocotber 13, 2026. (Photo by Unique Nicole / AFP)
US director Nick Paley attends the premiere of Hulu's TV series "Phony" at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, on Ocotber 13, 2026. (Photo by Unique Nicole / AFP)

A teenager wakes up after a traffic crash convinced his mother has been replaced by an imposter -- but almost no one believes him.

The plot of "Phony," the show that debuted this week on Hulu, stems from a childhood fear long held by creator and writer Nick Paley.

"I had this core fear when I was a kid of losing my mom," he told AFP. "I just was obsessed with things, bad things happening to her, and just getting separated from her."

"That was sort of an emotional thing that I wanted to explore."

"Phony" stars Sam Nivola as Sonny, a teenager with a close bond to his single mother, Ellen (Connie Britton).

When he regains consciousness following the accident, Sonny doesn't recognize the woman claiming to be Ellen -- in terms of looks, but also because she no longer has a grasp on the insider codes of their relationship.

And Paley -- who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" -- lets "Phony" bleed across genre.

"It's like a thriller that feels real to life, and to me, like real to life is things are funny, things are scary, things are dramatic, and they kind of all work together," he said.

Paley noted that Britton was instrumental in heightening the suspense and horror elements, portraying the alleged imposter with a warmth that confuses both Sonny and the audience.

He said he spoke frequently about "how to play both sides of this."

"How can it seem like she's a possibly, a worried mom who's helping her son who's losing his mind, or an imposter who is something really dark and is doing something that's like, you know, scary," he continued.

"Like, she's not a person to be trusted."

For Paley, Britton -- who starred in series including "Friday Night Lights" and "The White Lotus" -- was an obvious casting choice.

"She's like, very much an America's mom in a certain way," he said.

The series is set in a small, fictional community in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

The area is characterized by its dramatic mountains and forested landscapes, which, for Paley, complemented the storytelling: "There's such drama to the mountains and the fog, and it just gives you this feeling that magic and strangeness is afoot."

The show touches, if tangentially, on conspiracy theories and alternative versions of the truth that can spring up on social media.

"We're living in a world that looks a lot like the world we know, but it's actually quite different," Paley said.

"And often, like based on our algorithms -- our individual information feeds -- we are seeing things slightly different than other people, and it's difficult to identify the mechanisms that are separating us," the show's creator continued.

"So there is a really good, you know, allegory in the main character's experience."