Ep. 76: Is Artificial Intelligence Good for the Future of Film?

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Nadira Azermai, founder of the script analysis company, ScriptBook. Founded in 2015, ScriptBook claims they will be able to save film studios a fortune using artificial intelligence to more accurately identify which scripts will lead to financially successful films. Azermai discusses how ScriptBook functions, the product’s track record of accurately (and sometimes inaccurately) predicting which films will hit or flop, and the most glaring blind spots that studios and producers fail to recognize when analyzing scripts. She also talks about whether applying a scientific method to a creative artform will lead to more homogenized films, how the #MeToo movement has influenced ScriptBook, and whether computers will eventually replace writers altogether.