The Director of a Raunchy 3-Hour Dracula Movie Says AI Is Gross and Slimy. That’s Why He Used It

Clocking in at around three hours and with actual AI figures (Count Dracula, the famous vampire that inspired Romanian warlord Vlad Tepes, and more), the film seems almost deliberately stilted. In a climate where many in the film and creative industries see generative AI as an affront to both the medium and their careers, Judd’s use of the technology has proven controversial. Cheeky, sarcastic, vulgar AI-generated images are AI-generated images after all.

After a recent New York Film Festival screening when he appeared via Zoom, created by an AI-generated backdrop, a skeptical cinephile snarked That Jude himself was officially “on the lookout for fraud.”

Judd finds himself in the right kind of knots as his movies get tighter and tighter. His films have previously used mock-death penalty to explore the oppression of historical memory, pornography to expose cultural hypocrisy around adult sexuality, and misogynist posturing to combat the appeal of such posturing. with draculaHe makes weapons A.I Damn AI? Or—as some purists believe—is using technology a betrayal of cinema and the creative spirit of man?

To find out, WIRED spoke to Judd, who appeared from France via Zoom, in the background of an AI-generated image of Donald Trump brandishing an AR-15 rifle while riding a cartoon kitty cat.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Wired: Who’s behind you? President Trump?

Radu Judas: I used this image at a European festival, where I was asked to give an online lecture. Now that I’ve been invited to discuss my film with some American friends, I thought I’d offer them something they’d appreciate. This photo was shared by Trump himself, when he was campaigning as a cat and dog protector.