{"id":654315,"date":"2026-10-23T00:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/654315\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T00:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:12:19","slug":"wildwood-director-travis-knight-on-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/654315\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildwood Director Travis Knight on AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cWildwood\u201d director Travis Knight<\/a> is weighing in on Hollywood\u2019s use of AI.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m not embracing it at all,\u201d Knight told me Wednesday night at AFI Fest\u2019s opening night U.S. premiere of \u201cWildwood.\u201d \u201cI see technology as a tool, and we use technology at Laika. A pencil is technology, a paintbrush is technology, a 3D printer is a computer is technology. Technology is useful when you put it in the hands of people, when you put it in the hands of artists who can amplify their voice.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTechnology is not useful when it takes the place of the artist, and that\u2019s the concern with generative AI,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing piece of technology, but the concern is that when it supplants the artist, then we have an issue because the computer cannot speak about humanity at all. It doesn\u2019t know what it feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWildwood\u201d director Travis Knight calls AI an \u201camazing piece of technology\u201d but says, \u201cI\u2019m not embracing it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see technology as a tool, and we use technology at Laika. A pencil is technology, a paintbrush is technology, a 3D printer is technology. Technology is useful\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/3SQQ87D2tq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Variety (@Variety) October 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWildwood\u201d is a stop-motion fantasy feature about a young girl (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who travels into a forbidden forest when her baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows. It took 16 years to complete the film, Knight said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSixteen years is a long time,\u201d Knight said. \u201cAs I\u2019ve said before, this film is old enough to have driven me to the premiere tonight. But it\u2019s a funny thing because it\u2019s a big fantasy story. It\u2019s a big sweeping adventure story. It\u2019s a beautiful extravaganza. It\u2019s an epic, but that\u2019s not something that sustains you for 16 years.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued, \u201cAt the heart of it, it has to be something that means something to you and that\u2019s the thing I\u2019m most proud of is that underneath it all, it is something that is really heartfelt, it\u2019s beautiful, it\u2019s emotional and that\u2019s the thing I hope audiences take away from this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWildwood\u201d director Travis Knight on the movie taking 16 years to complete:<\/p>\n

\u201cSixteen years is a long time,\u201d Knight said. \u201cAs I\u2019ve said before, this film is old enough to have driven me to the premiere tonight. But it\u2019s a funny thing because it\u2019s a big fantasy story. It\u2019s a big\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/hNeDFa8mCc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Variety (@Variety) October 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tKnight doesn\u2019t believe that AI could have helped speed up the process \u2014 at least not if he wanted to maintain the highest quality. \u201cThat very notion fills me with rage,\u201d he said. \u201cLook, that\u2019s the world we live in and the technology seems like it\u2019s only pushing us in one direction, which is everything is going to be simpler. Everything is going to be automated; everything is going to be easier. What I would say to that is that there is something special about the human touch. There is something beautiful about humanity. And that\u2019s one thing that stop motion represents. Stop-motion represents humanity at its finest creativity, emotion, care, devotion, time.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s something that AI could never do because a computer has never felt anything,\u201d Knight added. \u201cIt\u2019s never felt loss or love or pain, and that\u2019s something that people can feel and that\u2019s something you feel in something that was made by people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cWildwood\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Laika<\/p>\n

\n\tThe cast of \u201cWildwood\u201d also includes Jacob Tremblay, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Carey Mulligan, Maya Erskine, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg and Tantoo Cardinal.<\/p>\n

\n\tBassett talked about recording her work during COVID. \u201cI wanted to get out of the house, get creative again,\u201d she told me. \u201cIt was just right on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tSee photos from the AFI Fest premiere of \u201cWildwood\u201d below.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAngela Bassett at \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTravis Knight, Marc Evan Jackson, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Amandla Stenberg, Tantoo Cardinal, Jake Johnson and Angela Bassett at \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBob Gazzale and Travis Knight at \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere during the AFI FEST 2026 Opening Night.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAwkwafina at \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAmandla Stenberg at \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTantoo Cardinal and Marc Evan Jackson at the \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere after party held at Chateau Marmont.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJacob Tremblay and Peyton Elizabeth Lee at the \u201cWildwood\u201d U.S. Premiere after party held at Chateau Marmont.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/p>\n