Soderbergh usó IA en documental Lennon

Steven Soderbergh said on May 17 that he used artificial intelligence to create some visuals in “John Lennon: The Last Interview,” a documentary built around the final recorded interview John Lennon gave with Yoko Ono on Dec. 8, 1980. The film is part of Cannes’ 2026 Special Screenings lineup and presents the interview in full for the first time, according to the festival. Soderbergh said the AI material was used for stretches where the conversation turned abstract and could not be illustrated with conventional archival footage. He said the choice was deliberate and that he wanted to be explicit about it. ### Which interview is this documentary built around? Dec. 8, 1980 is the date at the center of the film. Cannes says Lennon and Ono received a small radio team at their New York apartment that day to promote “Double Fantasy,” and the discussion ranged across music, politics, parenthood and life before Lennon was killed hours later. AP reported that the interview was conducted by a San Francisco radio crew from the Dakota Apartments in New York. (the-journal.com) The Cannes listing says the documentary runs 100 minutes and includes reflections from witnesses alongside the complete interview. Deadline reported that the recording had never before been released in full and that Soderbergh cut it down from a near three-hour runtime for the film. ### How much of the movie used AI, and what did Soderbergh say it was for? About 10% of the film uses AI-generated visuals, Soderbergh said in an interview published by Deadline before the Cannes premiere. (festival-cannes.com) He said he assembled more than 1,000 archival images with the support of the Lennon estate, but some passages in which Lennon and Ono spoke in philosophical or abstract terms resisted standard illustration. Rolling Stone, summarizing that interview, reported that Soderbergh called the approach “thematic surrealism” and said he was looking for imagery that enhanced what Lennon and Ono were saying without pretending to be real footage. He said he was not trying to “fool” viewers or create images they would mistake for authentic documentary material. (deadline.com) ### What exactly did he say about using AI instead of archive footage? Meta said on May 11 that it was the technology partner for the film and described the project as bringing Lennon and Ono’s final radio interview to the screen for the first time. Deadline reported that Meta provided both tools and financial backing for the AI-inclusive portions of the documentary. (rollingstone.com) Soderbergh told Deadline that transparency was necessary when artists use AI. According to Rolling Stone’s account of the interview, he framed the technology as comparable to visual effects or CGI when used for clearly non-photographic sequences rather than fabricated documentary evidence. ### Did the Lennon family approve the decision? Sean Ono Lennon supported the use of AI in the film, according to reports published before Cannes. (about.fb.com) AXS, citing Soderbergh’s comments, reported that Sean Ono Lennon told the director that John Lennon would have wanted to engage with the technology. AP reported on May 17 that Soderbergh wanted to talk publicly about the decision rather than obscure it. (deadline.com) That account placed the disclosure in Cannes, where debate over AI in filmmaking has been part of the wider festival conversation this year. ### Where does the film go from here? Cannes says “John Lennon: The Last Interview” is in the 2026 Special Screenings section of the festival, which runs from May 12 to May 23. (axs.tv) Variety reported that sales company 193 boarded the film ahead of its world premiere in Cannes. The next public milestones are likely to be distribution and release plans. (the-journal.com) As of May 18, Cannes’ official page lists the film’s festival details, while trade coverage says 193 is handling sales for the documentary. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)