Artificial intelligence has fueled countless breakthroughs in entertainment, but few projects have sparked as much debate as Fable's newest plan.
The AI startup, funded by Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa Fund, wants to recreate 43 minutes of lost footage from Orson Welles’ 1942 masterpiece “The Magnificent Ambersons” using AI, TechCrunch reported.
The announcement immediately drew criticism from Welles’ estate, with David Reeder, who handles affairs for the director’s daughter Beatrice, telling Variety that the project is an “attempt to generate publicity on the back of Welles’ creative genius.”
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Fable Expands AI Ambitions Beyond Movie Recreation
Fable positions itself as the “Netflix of AI” and has built a platform allowing users to create cartoons through AI prompts. The company has already generated unauthorized “South Park” episodes, raising questions about intellectual property boundaries in the AI era.
Filmmaker Brian Rose, who has spent five years working to digitally reconstruct Welles’ original vision, plans to use Fable’s new AI model over the next two years to remake the lost footage. Rose mourned the destruction of “a four-minute-long, unbroken moving camera shot whose loss is a tragedy,” with only 50 seconds remaining in the recut film, TechCrunch reported.
The planned approach combines AI with traditional filmmaking techniques. Some scenes will be reshot with contemporary actors whose faces will be digitally swapped for recreations of the original cast, including Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead.
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Estate Calls Project “Purely Mechanical Exercise” Without Creative Vision
A Welles estate spokesperson's criticism extends beyond legal concerns to artistic integrity, describing the project as “a purely mechanical exercise without any of the uniquely innovative thinking of a creative force like Welles.”
The estate representative seemed less upset about attempting to recreate “Ambersons” and more frustrated that the estate was not “even given the courtesy of a heads up.” They told Variety that “the estate has embraced AI technology to create a voice model intended to be used for voiceover work with brands.”
The spokesperson added that while the estate recognizes AI as "inevitable," the technology "still cannot replace the creative instincts resident in the human mind.
Fable has not obtained rights to the film, making this a prospective tech demonstration that will probably never reach public release, TechCrunch says.
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Why “The Magnificent Ambersons” Remains Hollywood’s Greatest Lost Film
“The Magnificent Ambersons” holds unique significance in cinema history. “Citizen Kane” has received recognition by The New Yorker as the greatest movie ever made. Still, “Ambersons” represents Welles’ lost masterpiece that the studio dramatically cut down and added an unconvincing happy ending, TechCrunch reported.
The movie’s reputation centers on loss and unfulfilled potential, presumably attracting Fable and Rose to the project. The original version was taken from Welles’ control, derailing his Hollywood career despite revealing his filmmaking genius even in diminished form. Welles' films have seen earlier restoration efforts, though those projects relied on surviving material that the director had filmed himself.
This situation highlights broader questions about AI’s role in recreating artistic works without creator consent, particularly when involving deceased artists who cannot advocate for their vision.
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