Get the latest gossip

Director Morgan Neville is steering clear of generative AI after ‘Roadrunner’ backlash

One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of “Roadrunner,” the Morgan Neville-directed documentary about Anthony Bourdain, was Neville’s use of

One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of “Roadrunner,” the Morgan Neville-directed documentary about Anthony Bourdain, was Neville’s use of generative AI to replicate Bourdain’s voice. Looking back now, Neville told Wired that he saw this as a “fun” way to “keep [Bourdain’s] voice going in the film.” But his approach drew intense criticism — while the synthetic Bourdain only read words that the real Bourdain had actually written, Neville said many viewers assumed, “Oh, they just made [expletive] up.” “Many people told me that there were other documentary projects that were doing the same thing, that all reacted; they either changed what they were doing or put giant disclaimers over everything,” he said.

Get the Android app