Filmmaker Paul Schrader says he is turning to artificial intelligence to make his next film after Black actors declined to participate because all three of the movie’s Black protagonists were criminals.

Schrader told The Playlist that his crime noir, Three Guns At Dawn, originally centered on three Black brothers: a corrupt police officer, a drug dealer and a sexual criminal. He said the project was sent to actors but that “no Black actors wanted to play in a movie where there are no good Black people.”

The project eventually stalled. “But then AI came along, and I didn’t need Black actors,” Schrader said.

The longtime director now plans to make the film entirely with AI-generated performers rather than recognizable actors, according to The Playlist.

Schrader had envisioned the project as a crime drama about three brothers living in South Central Los Angeles, each involved in a different form of criminal activity. Antoine Fuqua was brought on as a producer and helped get the project to Netflix.

The Playlist reported on September 3 that Fuqua has since removed himself from the project.

The 80-year-old filmmaker, whose decades-long career includes writing Taxi Driver and directing films including American Gigolo and First Reformed, has become an outspoken supporter of generative AI and has argued that the technology will inevitably disrupt jobs in Hollywood.

In a separate interview, he said he believes actors will be among the creative workers affected as the technology becomes more widely used.

Schrader’s comments have drawn criticism over his decision to use AI to bypass the concerns raised by Black actors about the film’s portrayal of Black characters

Film Stories argued that he chose to replace the Black actors rather than consider whether there was something about the script that made the roles unappealing to the community it depicted.

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Mike Evans and The Memphis Morning Show