Yahoo Lifestyle Bertrand Bonello on AI, Freaky Change and How His Next Project Will Be a Totally Different Beast: ‘Now I Have to Turn the Page and Be Somewhere Else’
The French director Bertrand Bonello, whose science-fiction drama “The Beast” played in competition at Venice last year, is sitting in the sunshine in medieval Lucca, dressed in white and thinking of the future. He’s speaking to Variety about what he’s learned from the film, which screened this week at Lucca Comics and Games, how cinema is changing and artificial intelligence.
“The Beast” is set in Paris in 2044 when AI reigns supreme. In such a technologically regulated society, human emotions have become a threat, and to get rid of them, Gabrielle must purify her DNA by going back into her past lives. There, she reunites with Louis, her great love. But she’s overcome by fear, a premonition that catastrophe is on the way.
More from Variety
Lea Seydoux plays Gabrielle, while George MacKay is Louis. The film is based on the novella “The Beast in the Jungle” by Henry James.
What are your thoughts on AI?
“It’s freaky. So powerful. I would never use AI in creative direction. For example, I asked AI to write a Bertrand Bonello script. In six or seven seconds, it writes a story of four pages. It’s not very good, but it’s not absurd. For a film, it’s impossible to follow. But if you’re writing episode four of Season 2 of a series, it can do the job. And this is now. What is it going to be in three or four years?”
It’s coming down the pipeline.
Yes, because it’s a question of money. For actors, dubbing actors, writers. The good thing is it pushes creators to be more personal, because something AI cannot do is be personal.
“The Beast” expresses concerns about technology and how it might serve to help rid ourselves of our traumas.
Trauma is a good word. I use the idea of anterior lives for my script. I don’t believe in them as such, but I do believe in ancient traumas and even unconscious traumas. For example, the Gabrielle of 2044 is the addition of all the Gabrielles before. We know it. She does not, and the same goes for Louis. So how do we deal with traumas there? They have good points, because they are building us. But they make us suffer.
You’ve always played with genre. “The Beast” is a mix of period drama, crime and science fiction. Is it somewhere you feel like going further with in future work?
This film is the end of something for me. It’s as if all my films led to this film, and now I have to turn the page and be somewhere else.
You made all these films, and this is your sort of final traumatic expression.
It’s not something I was searching for or aware of, but it’s something I realized while I was traveling with the film. When you’ve finished a film, the film hasn’t finished with you. It’s still teaching you about what it is. This comes from others. I learn a lot from critics, or someone in the theater who understands the film better than I do, because there is part of it that is unconscious. I think this part is very precious. When you do interviews, or when you are financing a film, everyone asks: “Why is that?” Of course, you have to find answers, because it’s the game, but they are fake answers. I give the illusion of being in control, because you cannot answer: “I don’t know, but I feel it. It’s just part of the unconscious.”
What’s your new project?
It’s a little early to talk about it. It’s going to be very different. It’s going to be completely different. The writing is finished, and we’re going to start the casting process. I’m going to announce it once the casting is done. I hope to start shooting next September.
How else is cinema changing?
Everything in cinema is changing. There is a general mutation. With the arrival of platforms, the series, the eye of the audience has changed. Of course, you must include this in your writing and your films. You can’t just say, “Oh, the audience is getting stupid. They’re watching a stupid series.” It’s more complicated. This mutation is freaky and fascinating. If you don’t involve it in your creation, you’re out. It’s always an equilibrium. You must protect the past and welcome the future. If you just welcome the future, you’re lost in the movement. If you protect the past, you’re out now.
Can you give me an example of that?
Fifteen years ago, you had movies and series, and now for the audience, it’s all fiction. They’re much more fluid. After COVID, a lot of people got used to seeing films on their computers. The problem with watching films on a computer is it slips in your memory. You don’t have a strong stain. When I take a plane and I see all these people watching films on an iPhone, I say, “Am I working for that?” And in a way, yes; I’m always going to struggle to put my films in theaters, but you know that some people will watch it on an iPhone, so you have to include that also.
So even when you’re thinking of the framing?
No, I always film for theaters and if you prefer to watch it on your iPhone, well, too bad for you. But you cannot change the aesthetic.
It feels like you’re hopeful.
It’s getting difficult, but if you don’t keep in mind that there is some light at the end, you’d just stop everything.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
