{"id":532934,"date":"2026-04-15T21:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/532934\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T21:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:39:11","slug":"doug-liman-says-ai-helped-slash-killing-satoshi-budget-from-300m-to-70m-shot-entirely-with-ai-backgrounds-world-of-reel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/532934\/","title":{"rendered":"Doug Liman Says AI Helped Slash \u2018Killing Satoshi\u2019 Budget From $300M to $70M \u2014 Shot Entirely With AI Backgrounds \u2014 World of Reel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">In case you didn\u2019t know, \u201cKilling Satoshi,\u201d directed by Doug Liman, currently in production, is being filmed entirely with AI backgrounds on a \u201cmarkerless performative capture stage,\u201d with no on-location shooting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201c\u2018Killing Satoshi\u2019 is being billed as the first fully AI-generated, studio-quality feature film. That\u2019s right\u2014AI technology is being used to create backgrounds and scenery, and not just that, to also \u2018tweak\u2019 actors\u2019 performances\u2014adjusting lip, facial, and body movements\u2014if needed, of course. This is all being done to reduce the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Of course, a firestorm occurred when this project was announced in February, which has now led Liman and his producers to invite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/creative-content\/movies\/ai-movie-bitcoin-killing-satoshi-gal-gadot-casey-affleck-doug-liman\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Wrap<\/a> on set to convince us all that everything is peachy when it comes to this film \u2014 which stars Casey Affleck, Pete Davidson, Gal Gadot, and Isla Fisher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Shot over just 20 days inside a \u201cgray box\u201d soundstage, Liman tells the outlet that his film uses minimal physical sets, lighting, and backgrounds, which will instead be generated in post-production using AI. Producers say the technology allowed them to make a film that would normally cost about $300M for a fraction of the price: $70M.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The goal, according to the team, was to reduce travel, waste, and costs while keeping performances untouched. Liman and his cast describe the experience as more like stage acting, with a stronger focus on performance, while producers argue AI should be seen as a tool that supports \u2014 not replaces \u2014 human creativity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The story itself is a conspiracy thriller about uncovering the identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The plot follows a journalist investigating claims that controversial figure Dr. Craig Wright is the real Satoshi and why powerful organizations might want to kill him. The film will be shopped to distributors at Cannes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The screenplay comes from Nick Schenk, who penned Eastwood\u2019s \u201cGran Torino\u201d and \u201cThe Mule.\u201d Liman is the director behind \u201cSwingers,\u201d \u201cGo,\u201d \u201cThe Bourne Identity,\u201d \u201cEdge of Tomorrow,\u201d and \u201cAmerican Made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cKilling Satoshi\u201d currently has no US distribution. Which studio will want to touch this film? Vertical? Ketchup? Briarcliff?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In case you didn\u2019t know, \u201cKilling Satoshi,\u201d directed by Doug Liman, currently in production, is being filmed entirely&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-532934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}