David Dastmalchian might not have played a lot of leading roles, but fans would agree that he has owned the characters he has played so far. This year, he graced the big screens as the host of a ’70s talk show in the movie Late Night with the Devil.

David Dastmalchian in a still from The Dark Knight
David Dastmalchian in a still from The Dark Knight

Besides playing the lead role of the talk show host Jack Delroy, Dastmalchian is also a producer on the movie. Although the film was released to critical acclaim, it has been dabbling in controversies ever since it was discovered that AI was used in its making. Defending the move has further landed the directors into trouble as fans remain disappointed.

Directors of David Dastmalchian’s Late Night with the Devil Defended AI Usage

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil
David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

Not so long ago, David Dastmalchian was seen in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film Oppenheimer. From Thomas Schiff in Nolan’s The Dark Knight to Polka-Dot Man in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, he has portrayed some of the most memorable characters in superhero franchises. Not to mention that he has worked with Denis Villeneuve in three movies, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune.

Read More: John Wick: Keanu Reeves’ Gun-Fu Franchise Adds Donnie Yen Spin-Off That Sounds Much Better Than Milking for a 5th Sequel

Dastmalchian’s horror film Late Night with the Devil sees him in the lead role of Jack Delroy, who struggles with boosting the viewership of his show Night Owls in 1977. He goes to a drastic measure to do so by hosting a Halloween special in which he invites special guests to speak on the occult. Things go sideways when a young possessed girl Lilly turns out to be much more vicious than expected.

Read More: Reality or Gimmick?: Fans Think Benny Blanco Chose the “worst time” to Announce Future Plans with Selena Gomez Amid Justin Bieber’s Baby News

The movie was a hit with the fans who praised it for its unique filmmaking style and intriguing plot. However, that praise turned into criticism when some fas discovered that AI was used in the film. To save the movie from drawing even more negative attention, the directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes released a statement to Variety, which read:

“We experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film.”

The Australian siblings said this regarding the posters for the fictional talk show Night Owls. The posters appear during some of the transition scenes in the movie. They also justified it saying that it was necessary to achieve the ’70s aesthetic they had envisioned.

Directors Defending the Use of AI Has Made Fans Even More Upset

A still from Late Night with the Devil
A still from Late Night with the Devil

The clarification from the directors has done nothing to pacify the fans. Instead, it has only escalated the situation as it has been established during last year’s dual Hollywood strikes that the use of AI poses a threat to the jobs of hundreds of professionals in the industry. Many fans took to X to call out the move. Here is what some of them wrote:

https://twitter.com/Nicole__VA/status/1791090723422605621

Read More: “That one’s pretty horrific”: House of the Dragon Showrunner Might Have Hinted a Storyline Darker Than The Red Wedding That’s Still Unwatchable for Many Fans

Some have even justified the use of generative AI tools in the film reasoning that the budget was quite low and it takes time to make movies. Saying that humans retouched the pictures does not seem to be a good enough defense for the film and directors continue to face backlash for their actions.

While A24’s Civil War ad campaign faced a similar reaction from the audience (via The Hollywood Reporter), there is no telling how many more such projects have been made and escaped notice.

Late Night with the Devil is available for streaming on Shudder.

Explore from around the WEB