Amazon-backed Showrunner using AI to recreate 'lost' part of this classic Hollywood movie

An Amazon-backed AI firm, Showrunner, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to reconstruct the missing portion of a classic Hollywood movie. The company announced that it will use AI to recreate the lost 43 minutes of footage from the George Orson Welles-starrer 1942 classic film "The Magnificent Ambersons." The AI-generated part will compensate for the original footage which was burned by studio executives almost 60 years ago at that time of its initial release. According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the Showrunner's project will combine AI with traditional film techniques. This includes using live actors and then applying face and pose transfer to preserve the likenesses of the original cast. Archived set photos from the movie will also be used to help rebuild the scenes.

What Showrunner said about recreating missing parts of the Hollywood classic with AI

Showrunner has confirmed to THR that it will not commercialise the final product, as it does not hold the rights to the Welles film. However, the Welles estate has publicly opposed the project, though it has indicated that AI can be used for voiceover purposes in commercial ventures.

In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson for the Welles estate said: “In general, the estate has embraced AI technology to create a voice model intended to be used for VO work with brands. That said, this attempt to generate publicity on the back of Welles' creative genius is disappointing, especially as we weren't even given the courtesy of a heads up. While AI is inevitable, it still cannot replace the creative instincts resident in the human mind, which means this effort to make Ambersons whole will be a purely mechanical exercise without any of the uniquely innovative thinking or a creative force like Welles.”The Magnificent Ambersons was Welles’ next project after

Citizen Kane

, which is often regarded as a landmark film. An older report from 2023 highlighted that the studio reduced Ambersons from 131 minutes to 88 minutes, leaving only 13 out of 73 scenes intact. The missing footage has since drawn strong interest from film enthusiasts eager to experience Welles’ original vision.