Italian Producer Unveils Trailer of New AI-Directed Film

‘The Sweet Idleness,’ which debuts in February, depicts a society in 2135 when most jobs are fully automated.

Andrea Iervolino (R) and actor Michele Morrone at the 19th Rome Film Festival at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on Oct. 26, 2024. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Andrea Iervolino, the award-winning Italian producer behind the biographical dramas “Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend” and “Ferrari,” has unveiled his latest endeavor—a feature film wholly directed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Iervolino, 37, took to Instagram on Oct. 1 to share the trailer for the forthcoming project, titled “The Sweet Idleness.”

The new film, which debuts in February, is set in the year 2135 and portrays a society where 99 percent of jobs have become fully automated.

“First film in the history of cinema 100 percent directed by an artificial intelligence agent,” Iervolino wrote. “Today, with The Andrea Iervolino Company AI, we present a project that marks the beginning of a new chapter for cinema.”

In addition to producing the film, Iervolino serves as the “the human-on-the-loop,” ensuring that there is “creative and production coherence” across the board.

“The Sweet Idleness” is helmed by FellinAI, “a virtual director who pays homage to the poetry and dream of great European cinema,” Iervolino penned. The name appears to be a nod to the acclaimed Italian director Federico Fellini, who is known for his work on the 1960s films “8½” and “La Dolce Vita.”

The cast of “The Sweet Idleness” was created with Actor+, a division of Iervolino’s company that creates digital performers using the likenesses and personalities of real people.

Iervolino’s announcement follows AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood’s recent debut at the Zurich Film Festival, which sparked criticisms from many actors.

“Not surprised that the first major ‘AI actor’ is a young woman that they can fully control and make do whatever they want,” actress Chelsea Edmundson wrote online.

Emily Blunt, who stars with Dwayne Johnson in the new film “The Smashing Machine,” told Variety that the use of the AI character was “terrifying” and “really, really scary.”

Whoopi Goldberg said on a recent episode of “The View” that the AI character has “a little bit of an unfair advantage.”

“But you know what? Bring it on, because you can always tell them from us,” she added, saying that real human beings talk and move differently. She said that the technology might become more seamless in a few years, and that she hopes human actors can “hold on to it” as much as possible.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)—a labor union that represents roughly 160,000 entertainment and media professionals, including actors, recording artists, and stunt performers—also issued a statement online condemning the replacement of human performers with synthetic actors.

“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. ... To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation,” SAG-AFTRA wrote in part.

“It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’—it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”

Iervolino seemingly addressed the controversy in his post, expressing admiration for conventional films.

“This does not replace traditional cinema, which I continue to passionately support,” he wrote about his new film. “It is an alternative and complementary path, to bring to life works that would otherwise remain invisible.”