Honorary Palme d’Or laureate frames generative AI as a craft tool, but insists actor consent and rights licensing are non-negotiable
AI in film is not a threat but just another special effect — provided that any AI re-creation of an actor’s face has the prior consent of the person or their estate.
That was the position Peter Jackson laid out on May 13 at his Cannes Film Festival masterclass, the day after he received an honorary Palme d’Or. His “AI-as-tool” framing adds a new coordinate to a Hollywood debate that has remained polarized between “AI as replacement threat” and “AI as productivity tool” since the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes.