ChatGPT wrote Peter Luisi's “The Last Screenwriter” – Culture

Film script written only by ChatGTP: Zurich film director Peter Luisi has dared and shown deep curiosity with the film “The Last Screenwriter”.

If the feature film script for The Last Screenwriter had been submitted to film school, it wouldn't have been enough to get a higher grade. The characterization is shallow, the plot twists are predictable, and the whole thing feels a bit like it was written primarily to get from A to B.

In terms of approach, The Last Screenwriter resembles what is known in professional circles as a “high-concept film”: the plot is built on a simple, immediately understandable premise, and then only subtly deviates from what the audience might want. Expect the expected announcement.

legend:

Jack (Nicholas Popple) types on his old typewriter. Can Chat-GPT do it better?

Spotlight Media Production AG

The premise is this: a screenwriter who is used to success is convinced that no software writes better than him. But when he tries his film project tool to be faster, he realizes that he has underestimated its importance: the artificial intelligence takes over the development of the material and does not skimp on aggressive behavior.

Highlights of the introduction: Everything is written by ChatGPT.

put to the test

Peter Luisi asked ChatGPT to do some self-reflection. His only requirement: “Write a plot for a movie where the screenwriter realizes he or she is inferior to the AI.” In fact, this is nothing short of a sabotage attempt: you turn the system on itself and see what happens: feedback? Short circuit? Eternal loop? System crash?

None of this. ChatGPT dutifully did what it was asked to do. The AI ​​didn’t allow itself to be delayed by the pretext of pitting man against machine in a duel of authenticity and credibility and inserting itself as a central element in the plot. ChatGPT tells this without a hint of fantasy, as traditionally and linearly as possible.

A contradictory experience

If a human is writing a movie against a machine, by all logic the script should have: narrative sparring, wordplay, and a lot of verbal power. If storytelling is presented as a duel, ideas should really emerge. But they don’t. Because ChatGPT is telling a functional story, not an original one.

legend:

Participating in a conversation with ChatGPT: screenwriter Jack (Nicholas Popple).

Spotlight Media Production AG

Audiences have a mixed experience when watching: They tend to feel comfortable because “The Last Screenwriter” isn’t particularly exciting or moving. You won’t feel comfortable anymore if you allow yourself to be drawn into real emotions by ChatGPT’s trickery.

Where is the person?

And yet, you watch this film in awe. Because so many people have been involved and brought as much life as possible to the virtual construction: direction, camera, lighting, scenery, editing: everything is done by human hands. And above all, the cast: you are amazed by the way the players sincerely try to extract something human from their mechanical lines of dialogue.

“The Last Screenwriter” is great—even if it doesn’t live up to the basic plot. “Uncanny” is the hard-to-translate English word that applies here: uncanny. At the same time, the conclusion of the entire project is encouraging: it seems that people no longer need to just unpack plots. We can talk about feelings instead.