This is Viewpoints Explained…
For years now, there has been hand-wringing about the potential infiltration of AI technology into the Hollywood landscape. The 2023 Writer’s Strike had a lot to do with fears about executives using AI to write scripts, and a so-called AI actress named Tilly Norwood allegedly has Hollywood excited about a future that doesn’t necessarily require highly-paid actors.
But like with most AI announcements, generative AI in Hollywood moviemaking continues to be more rumor than reality. And the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Project Hail Mary, is a good example of why I’m just not sold on the truth of an AI-generated movie resonating with audiences.
Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi comedy epic starring Ryan Gosling from directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have proudly boasted about having zero green screen shots in the entire film. Instead of relying too heavily on computer graphics, Lord and Miller used practical sets and a puppet of an alien. They made the movie the old fashioned way, with clever lighting and models, allowing expert artisans to blow audiences minds in-camera. And the result is a genuine crowd-pleasing hit.
Like Barbie and Oppenheimer both did back in 2023, Project Hail Mary prioritized using real sets and staging practical stunts to make something visually distinct, and crowds can’t seem to get enough. Compare that to the diminishing returns of the superhero craze, where audiences have grown tired of climactic CGI battles that all look alike with sludgy, computer-generated grey skies, and it seems to me that the love and care it takes to make a movie with practical effects truly does resonate differently – and more strongly – in audiences’ hearts and minds.
Intel used to be the gold standard for computer chips. Founded in 1968, the silicon valley company played a big role in modern computing with the creation of its X-86 microprocessors – the foundational chips that still power most personal computers today. It was a market giant in the 90’s and 2000’s, when its processors were found inside the majority of PC’s. meanwhile, AMD, which stands for advanced micro devices, sat mostly in the shadows as the cheaper, budget option.
Fast forward to today and the tables have turned. Earlier this month, a rumor spread quickly online that AMD might buy intel. by its end, the big news turned out to be an April fools prank, but to many, the takeover kind’ve made sense. Intel once controlled more than 80 percent of the computer processing market, but today, that dominance has faded and AMD has taken the spotlight by winning contracts in some of the most demanding parts of the industry. meanwhile, Intel is struggling to regain ground and has been plagued by manufacturing setbacks and missed timelines in its rollout of data centers and advanced computer chips.
Both brands still manufacture X-86 computer processors, but the profit gap between them has widened. Investors have largely backed AMD’s approach, driving up its stock price as demand grows for its more cost-efficient chips that power cloud services and AI.
intel, on the other hand, is still working to define its next move. At this point, it’s clear the company is losing ground. What’s less clear is whether this iconic American brand can catch up.
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