Clocking in at nearly three hours long and replete with real-life depictions of artificial intelligence (Count Dracula, the Romanian warlord Vlad Tepes who inspired the renowned vampire, and much, much more), the film feels almost intentionally upsetting. In a climate where many in the film and artistic industries view generative AI as an insult to both the medium and their careers, Jude’s exploit of the technology has proven controversial. Brazen, satirical and obscene AI-generated images are, after all, still AI-generated images.
When he appeared via Zoom after a screening at the recent Novel York Film Festival, surrounded by an artificial intelligence-generated background, one skeptical moviegoer he growled that Jude himself was officially “watching the scams.”
Jude finds himself in exactly the same knot that his films tend to tighten. His films have already used mock executions to explore the repression of historical memory, pornography to expose cultural hypocrisy around adult sexuality, and misogynistic attitudes to grapple with the appeal of such attitudes. WITH Draculaweaponized AI to curse AI? Or maybe – as some purists believe – stooping to the exploit of this technology is a betrayal of cinema and the human artistic spirit itself?
To find out, WIRED spoke with Jude, who arrived from France via Zoom, against the backdrop of an AI-generated image of Donald Trump brandishing an AR-15 rifle while riding a cartoon cat.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
WIRED: Who’s behind you? President Trump?
Radu Judas: I used this photo at a European festival where I was asked to give an online talk. Now that I’ve been invited to discuss my film with some American friends, I thought I’d offer them something they’d appreciate. This photo was shared by Trump himself while he was campaigning as an advocate for cats and dogs.