2023 was the year of the AI villain in Hollywood, with blockbusters like “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” and “The Creator” portraying artificial intelligence as a deadly force that could ultimately destroy humanity. But married filmmaking duo Andy and Sam Zuchero decided to take a different approach with their sprawling romance “Love Me,” which tells the story of two AI entities who take on multiple physical forms during their billion year affair. What if AI was a positive thing that could help us see love in a new light?
It was a wise approach, as “Love Me” has become one of the most talked about films of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The Zucheros and their stars Kristin Stewart and Steven Yeun stopped by the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox, to talk about their film’s optimistic approach to AI.
“We had a story that was a science fiction story, and Sam said ‘Throw it out the window,’ because we wanted to make a love story,” Andy Zuchero said. “As we were making this movie, the landscape of technology and AI has evolved so much. We’re getting a lot of questions about how this movie unpacks AI or looks at AI. And we’re honestly just spectators, we’re the audience members to see this new thing evolve, and it’s exciting. And really our movie isn’t about AI. It’s about us, through the lens of AI. And the cool part about that is AI just functions so it can draw from everything and everyone. It’s an egalitarian view of humanity. And that was an interesting lens to look at this all through — it was one without judgement.”
Sam Zuchero explained that she was inspired by screwball comedies from directors like Frank Capra and Howard Hawks, which prompted her to experiment with applying classic romance storytelling techniques to futuristic problems such as the rise of AI.
“I was watching ‘It Happened One Night’ and ‘His Girl Friday’ and I was like ‘Oh, this will be good if we can tell it through the lens of love,’” she said. “And it will give us an opportunity to use AI as a tool to look at ourselves without judgement.”
Yeun and Stewart echoed their directors’ sentiments, saying that the film’s use of AI as a plot point allowed it to offer a fresh perspective on romantic love that’s free of traditional human biases.
“We are the totality of it all,” Yeun said. “It’s interesting to see the way you want to be loved, or feel like you can attain love, or get affection, or not lose somebody. The way you compromise yourself, compromise each other. And then to come to the end of that and say ‘Maybe it’s all perfect anyway.’ It’s only imperfect when you comment on it, when you’re self-aware about it. But when you’re in that moment, it’s just happening.”
Stewart expressed hope that “Love Me” could ultimately be used as a model for a future that’s filled with hope, rather than fear, about AI.
“Instead of continually making movies where AI destroys us all, maybe we suggest this,” Stewart said. “Let’s love each other!”
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival runs January 18–28, with festival talks taking place January 19–26. See the full lineup here for the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox.
Dropbox supports and champions independent makers, crews, and teams behind the camera who bring their unique perspectives to life at the Sundance Film Festival. We’re proud that over 60% of films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival leveraged Dropbox in their filmmaking process. It takes a monumental effort for film projects to go from ideation to completion, and Dropbox is dedicated to helping filmmakers get their projects across the finish line faster. Filmmakers used Dropbox as one organized homebase to keep video files secure, to remotely collaborate with teams around the world, and to get real-time video feedback with Dropbox Replay.
