Abel Ferrara isn’t scared of AI. In fact, he is embracing how “cool” the technology is, especially when it comes to dubbing.
Ferrara, who recently directed “Padre Pio,” told Deadline while at the Taormina Film Festival that AI made an Italian dub possible for the feature starring Shia LaBeouf. “Padre Pio” premiered at Venice 2022 and was later released in 2023. An Italian release is taking place in July 2024.
“It looks like I directed in Italian, it’s very cool,” Ferrara said of utilizing AI for the dub. He added that while all of the actors sans LaBeouf were Italian but spoke in English for the feature, the Italian dub is now “the perfect storm” of a cut.
“The kids acted in English, they get to watch it in Venice, they get to see it with an audience, they get the movie, they understand what they have to do then they go into the studio and dub it in their own language so they bring a little extra,” Ferrara said.
As for AI as a whole, he added that he is “not yet” fearful of what the technology can do.
“It’s progress,” Ferrara said. “It’s like anything else, why are you going assume it’s going to be used to destroy you? What kind of paranoid attitude is that? It’s like the internet — if you use it in a positive way, it’s awesome. You’re gambling all night, watching pornography, it’s a disaster.”
Ferrara continued, “You gotta make this shit work for you. You got the phone, you got the computer, you got the internet — you’re self enclosed now. Take this modern shit, let no one rule you. These kids coming up with YouTube, TikTok, you know, all the power to them. You got the world in your MacBook, you don’t have to go begging studios and begging people, just go for it. […] I don’t know, maybe it’s the end of the world, but I ain’t that kind of guy, I gotta see it to believe it.”
Ferrara confirmed his upcoming project “American Nails” is a “gangster film” set as a modern take on the story of Phaedra from Greek mythology. Asia Argento stars as the Phaedra character alongside Willem Dafoe, with the production beginning in September in Italy.
