An AI project will recreate the lost third of Orson Welles' film "The Magnificent Ambersons".

# AI project will recreate the lost third of Orson Welles' film "The Magnificent Ambersons"

The company Showrunner plans to use AI to restore 43 missing minutes of footage from Orson Welles' classic 1942 film "The Magnificent Ambersons." This is reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The company uses a combination of artificial intelligence tools and traditional filmmaking methods. The latter includes shooting scenes with live actors, who will be given resemblance to the original characters using deepfake technology.

The project will be led by director Brian Rose, who has restored 30,000 frames of the film over the past five years. He recreated physical sets in 3D models, using them to accurately determine the camera movement in accordance with the script, photos from the set, and archival recordings.

The author's version of "The Magnificent Ambersons" had a duration of 131 minutes, however, Welles ceded the right of final editing to RKO Gower Street Studios ( now Sunset Gower Studios ). As a result, the film was shortened to 87 minutes, and nearly a third of the filmed negatives were destroyed by the studio without the director's knowledge to free up space in the archive.

The film released in 1942 by the creator of "Citizen Kane" received good and even enthusiastic reviews from critics. In 1991, the Library of Congress deemed the work significant enough to be included in the National Film Registry. In 2002, a remake of "The Magnificent Ambersons" was made in Hollywood.

The showrunner expects to complete the recreation of the picture within two years. However, the AI company will not be able to release it to the market as it has not acquired the rights.

"The goal is not to commercialize the 43-minute film, but to have it come to light after 80 years, during which people have asked: 'Could this have been the best film in its original form?'", said Showrunner CEO Edward Saatchi.

At the same time, he clarified that if the company sees demand for the product beyond the "academic context", it will, of course, obtain ownership rights.

Commenting on the expansion of AI tools in the film industry, Saatchi positioned Showrunner as the "Netflix of artificial intelligence." The company aims to provide users with the ability to create their own full versions of films in the form of fan fiction using the technology.

"Today, AI cannot pull a story beyond a short episode, but the company's tools are a step toward a frightening and strange future of generative storytelling," said the head of Showrunner.

It is worth noting that the progress of AI technologies has raised concerns about unemployment not only among Hollywood figures but also among ordinary citizens of the USA.