Julia Roberts points out pros and cons of AI

Julia Roberts agrees with Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis on the topic of AI and its potential in filmmaking.

"I don’t believe it’s possible either," Roberts told Deadline. "I think that at the root of every book and play and movie and TV show and essay and article is someone’s heart and soul, and those are not manufacturable."

The Oscar winner didn’t disregard AI completely and noted its advantages in other fields.

"I think it’s interesting what AI can do for medicine, things like that. I think that’s something that as a world we should be so proud of and interested in."

However, she’s "never used ChatGPT because I think it’s a slippery slope, right? Anytime you find that shortcut for something, and at first you go, 'Oh, this is great.' But is it?"

The Pretty Woman star also reflected on the movie going experience and its importance in culture.

"I think I like to maintain a robust sense of optimism for all things. I remember, there was a moment during Covid where I was talking to Bryan Lourd, my agent. We had this long conversation, and I got off the phone with him and … it was a moment where I thought, ‘It’s over. We’ll never be in a movie theater again.’ I just sat in my little rocking chair and just wept,” she recalled.

She argued that it’s especially important now that everyone has their heads down using their phones.

“Where else do you sit with a group of people where everybody has their heads up, and you’re all kind of sharing energetically the same story? It’s a really unique thing to do in the theater — and in the movie theater— and the idea of that disappearing forever, it’s too heartbreaking for me to believe it could happen,” added Julia.

Julia Roberts shined in Luca Guadagnino’s drama After the Hunt, for which she scored a Golden Globe nomination.