Movies
‘The Reef’ Director Andrew Traucki to Helm Crocodile Survival Thriller ‘Ulu’
The Reef and Black Water writer-director Andrew Traucki is heading back into the water for another high-concept survival thriller titled Ulu.
Deadline reports that Alliance Media Partners is launching world sales at the European Film Market in Berlin next month.
Set deep in the rarely-filmed river systems and rainforests of Borneo, Ulu is inspired by true events.
It follows a group of outsiders and locals drawn into a remote river basin, where a series of violent incidents reveal that a massive, highly territorial crocodile – long believed to exist only in legend – has been driven into deadly proximity with the humans.
Borneo Pictures produces, with Traucki co-producing. Formation Effects founder Steve Boyle (Anaconda, Beast of War) will lead the visual effects.
“Andrew Traucki is a proven master of survival cinema,” said Anthony Buckner, AMP’s Head of Sales, Acquisitions & Distribution. “Ulu combines an extraordinary setting, a formidable crocodile, and a highly experienced team whose credits include The Revenant, Lone Survivor, Edge of the World, and The Reef. We’re also thrilled to be working with Steve Boyle on bringing this creature to life.”
“Ulu is designed as a visceral theatrical experience,” added Traucki. “The river, the jungle, and the crocodile are all active forces in the story. It’s a survival thriller rooted in real environments, real pressures, and real consequences.”
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
You must be logged in to post a comment.