The behind-the-scenes production of artificial intelligence

Creative background

Stanley Kubrick had the idea of ??filming this film as early as the early 1970s, and he hired short story writer Brian Aldiss to complete it. Story synopsis. In 1985, Kubrick recruited his old friends Steven Spielberg and Jane Harlan to serve as producers, and decided that Warner Bros. would distribute the film. In the late 1980s, Kubrick fired Aldiss, who had creative differences with him, and Bob Shaw, who subsequently took over the script, was fired six months later because he could not meet Kubrick's schedule requirements. In March 1990, Ian Watson became the third screenwriter and completed the first draft of the story outline in just three weeks.

The inspiration for the film's story came from "Pinocchio". Kubrick once called the film "a robot version of The Adventures of Pinocchio." In the first draft of the script, Joe was originally a soldier, but Watson suggested changing his identity to a gigolo, prompting Kubrick to joke that he thought they'd lost the child audience. At the same time, Kubrick, who believed that computer animation technology was not mature enough at the time, shelved the filming plan of the film and instead devoted himself to the adaptation of the novel "War Lies". After the release of "Jurassic Park", Kubrick announced that "Artificial Intelligence" would start filming in 1994. Dennis Mullen and Ned Goldman, who had participated in the filming of "Jurassic Park", served as the film's visual effects directors. , but Kubrick was very dissatisfied with the two people's initial ideas and the high cost of Industrial Light and Magic.

In early 1994, preparations for the filming of the film finally began. Kubrick began to consider using real actors to play David, and the new visual effects supervisor Chris Cunningham and producer Harlan believed that young actors could play David. The effect of putting on a rubber mask is really bad. Kubrick and Harlan gradually realized that the film was more suitable for Spielberg to direct. In 1995, Kubrick decided to hand over the director's position to Spielberg, but the latter was unable to take the lead due to busy filming schedules. After that, "AI" was once again shelved because Kubrick had signed on to direct "Eyes Wide Shut." On March 5, 1999, the 71-year-old great director passed away due to a heart attack, and this "Artificial Intelligence" became his unfulfilled last wish.

At the begging of Harlan and Kubrick’s wife, Steven Spielberg decided to direct the film himself. He said: “In the 1980s, I learned about this from Stanley. "It's an unforgettable and wonderful story. I was deeply attracted by the ingenious integration of science and human nature. After he is gone, let me tell this story for him." "Starman," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" films, "Empire of the Sun," "The Color Purple" and "Jurassic Park," said: "It was clear to me that there was no one better qualified to complete Artificial Intelligence than Steven. "Intelligent" script, he understands what the film means to himself, Kubrick and the audience. I don't think any screenwriter can express everything in Steven's mind. "The producer who was Spielberg's assistant. Bonnie Curtis recalled: "During the six years I was Steven's assistant, I handled all the correspondence, with the exception of faxes from Stanley. Steven had a fax machine at home. He and Stanley communicated directly by fax, and no one knew anything about it." After the post-production of "Saving Private Ryan" was completed, Spielberg refused to sign any new films, but devoted himself entirely to the preparation of this film. The film script was completed in two months.

The filming process

In order to present the future world in the film's story, Spielberg spent a lot of time working with visual effects supervisors Dennis Mullen and Scott from Industrial Light and Magic. Farrar, along with art director Rick Carter, pored over early storyboards by concept artist Chris Baker. Based on more than 1,000 existing drawings, Industrial Light and Magic produced 100 physical models and corresponding computer models, and Chris Baker, who had already immigrated to the United States, went to the Industrial Light and Magic Company in Northern California to help realize his design. Results. Art director Rick Carter divided the film into three parts. He said: "The plot development of this film is a bit like the evolution of movies. It starts as a family drama and then transforms into a road movie that presents real and digital images. Finally entering a completely different digital world."

While designing and building the set, the creative staff faced the most difficult challenge of the entire film, which was to accompany the robot boy David on his adventures. Brigade of teddy bears. As the main character in the film, the teddy bear is a complex combination of models and digital technology. Its appearance means that the structure and lighting of the film's set must be able to accommodate and hide the technicians who operate the model. When the teddy bear wants to run or When jumping and other actions that cannot be completed by the model, Industrial Light and Magic will step in to seamlessly integrate computer graphics and real-life images. Although the teddy bear is small, it has all the internal organs. The bear used for shooting close-ups is equipped with 50 servo motors, 24 of which are located on the head, so that the special effects technicians can control complex facial movements. Stan Winston Studio exclusively produced six versions of teddy bears with different functions. Some are suitable for actors to carry, some can complete stunts, and some can show a single expression such as smiling or frowning.

For Haley Joel Osment, the young actor who plays David, it is not easy to carry a teddy bear around because the seemingly lightweight and portable bear weighs 30 pounds. He said: "It's really A super toy, because under the action of various motors in the body, it can not only swing its body, nose and ears, but also grab objects. I almost believed it."

Art Director Rick. ·The biggest challenge faced by Carter and the art department led by him in the film was the design and construction of the colorful Rouge City. Some of the buildings in the city were built to scale, while the rest were built in a virtual blue screen studio Produced and filmed. Carter recalled: "We originally wanted to spend $1 million to build physical sets in a larger soundstage, but there was no doubt that Industrial Light and Magic could use the money to create a more spectacular digital city, and they decided to use groundbreaking Technical means build a virtual digital space in the blue screen studio. "Under the careful design of the special effects department, hundreds of sensing points on the ceiling of the studio correspond to different environmental programs. When the actors walk through it, the blue screen set will appear in the same way. The corresponding virtual digital environment is presented in 360 degrees.

Film casting

When the film was initially being prepared in 1993, child actor Joseph Mazzero, who had appeared in "Jurassic Park", was the original candidate to play David. Julianne Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow were the original choices to play Monica. Robin Williams, Ben Kingsley, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock and Jack Angel, who voiced the robot, were all selected by Kubrick during his lifetime. Completed under the direction of Kubrick. Ministry, the band that appears in the film, was chosen by Kubrick himself.