The highly anticipated world premiere of the first feature film written entirely by AI has been canceled. The Last Screenwriter, directed by Peter Luisi, was scheduled for Sunday night at The Prince Charles Cinema in London. However, on Tuesday, the theater informed Luisi that the event had been canceled following 200 complaints from the public.
“I was totally surprised, I didn’t expect that,” Luisi told The Daily Beast.
Despite the removal of details and promotional materials, the event listing was still available on the theater’s website as of Tuesday afternoon. The Prince Charles Cinema confirmed the cancellation and issued refunds for the tickets via email, but it did not provide a reason for it. Posts on social media advertising the premiere were also removed, but angry users’ comments could still be seen.
“The Last Screenwriter” narrates the journey of Jack, a successful screenwriter who encounters an AI-powered scriptwriting system that outshines his abilities. The whole screenplay was generated by ChatGPT based on Luisi’s initial prompt: “Write a plot to a feature-length film where a screenwriter realizes he is less good than artificial intelligence in writing.” This innovative process aimed to explore, “How good can a movie be AI wrote that?”
Luisi explained, “There have been so many movies done where it’s like ‘man versus machine.’ In all of these movies, a human imagined how this scenario would be, and this is like the first movie where, not the human, but the AI imagined how this would be.” He noted that actors were “astonished how good the screenplay is,” adding, “They almost couldn’t believe it. Which is also still my response.”
Luisi knew the project would cause criticism even though it was unique. The film industry has been discussing the possible effects of artificial intelligence (AI) a lot, particularly after writers in Hollywood demanded protections against the growing power of AI during last year’s strikes. Other instances, including the AI-generated images in “Late Night With the Devil” and the “Civil War” promotional posters, have faced a similar criticism.
Luisi thinks people don’t fully understand the project in question. “People don’t know enough about the project. All they hear is ‘first film written entirely by AI’ and they immediately see the enemy, and their anger goes towards us,” he said. “But I don’t feel like that way at all. I feel like the film is not at all saying, ‘this is how movies should be.’”
Luisi intends to clear up misunderstandings by making the entire film available for free online on July 11, with the screenplay and documents outlining ChatGPT’s contribution to its production. “If screenwriters take the time to watch the movie and read about the process and why we did this film, I can’t imagine they’ll condemn us or me because I’m one of them,” he said. “I could probably make a lot of money with this movie, but I’m choosing not to because I don’t want people to say: ‘You’re profiting from our misery, and you’re using this as a marketing tool to make money.’”
Luisi is still determined to host a private screening for the actors and crew, even though the public premiere will no longer happen. “We’ll still hold the premiere on Sunday because everybody’s ready, and we’ve booked our flights and all that, but it won’t be in public,” he explained. “It will just be our premiere, I guess.”
Thinking ahead, Luisi admits that artificial intelligence can transform the film industry entirely. Although his film required human involvement in production, editing, and directing, he considers the potential consequences of entirely autonomous AI-generated motion pictures.
“I don’t know if it will be possible—but it might be,” he said. “And it is a threat. I feel that myself.” Nonetheless, Luisi emphasizes the inevitability of AI’s presence, stating, “It is here, and it’s here to stay. We have to deal with it. We can’t ignore it, as much as we would like to.”