Peter Jackson Defends AI as a “Special Effect", Thinks It’s Why Andy Serkis WIll Never Win an Oscar For Gollum

While a lot of filmmakers are sounding alarms over AI creeping into Hollywood, Peter Jackson seems far less rattled by it. The legendary Lord of the Rings director addressed the topic during a masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was honored with an Honorary Palme d’Or, and his take on AI in filmmaking was a lot more measured than some fans may have expected.

Jackson admitted that AI technology comes with serious concerns, joking that it’s “going to destroy the world,” but when it comes to filmmaking itself, he doesn’t see it as some creative apocalypse.

“I mean, to me, it’s just a special effect,” Jackson said. “It’s no different from other special effects.”

That doesn’t mean he thinks there shouldn’t be guardrails. One thing he made clear is that actors need protection from having their likenesses used without consent.

“If you’re doing an AI duplicate of somebody, like Indiana Jones or anyone else, as long as you’ve licensed the rights off the person who you’re showing, I don’t see the issue. It’s when people’s likenesses get stolen and usurped.”

One part of the conversation around AI that clearly frustrates Jackson is how it affects the perception of motion-capture acting.

He specifically pointed to Andy Serkisand his groundbreaking work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, arguing that the current climate surrounding AI and digital performances has made it almost impossible for performances like that to be properly recognized by awards bodies.

“A lot of the current environment, everyone’s so worried about AI … I don’t think a Gollum-type character or a generated character has any hope for winning any awards,” he explained.

“Which is a bit unfair, especially in the Andy Serkis case where it’s not an AI-generated performance, it’s a human-generated performance 100% of the way.”

That’s a point fans have argued for years. Serkis completely transformed the industry’s understanding of performance capture, yet awards recognition never really followed. Jackson’s comments feel like a reminder that there’s still a weird divide between what audiences accept as acting and what awards voters are willing to acknowledge.

Jackson also talked about the upcomingThe Hunt for Gollum movie and why he decided not to direct it himself. Instead, Serkis is stepping into the director’s chair while also reprising the role of Gollum, and Jackson sounds genuinely excited about that decision.

“The film is about Gollum’s psychological and addiction. I thought, ‘Andy knows this guy better than anybody.’ So I actually I didn’t think much of me [directing the new movie]. I thought the most exciting version of this movie is if Andy Serkis makes it.”

Serkis has spent decades living with that character, shaping every twitch, movement, and tortured whisper that made Gollum one of fantasy cinema’s most unforgettable creations. Hopefully, the fact he’s guiding the story will make The Hunt for Gollum something really special. But, the previous films’ he’s directed have been mediocre at best.

Jackson’s Cannes appearance also turned into a pretty emotional Lord of the Rings reunion moment. Elijah Wood presented the filmmaker with the Honorary Palme d’Or and reflected on the massive impact Jackson’s trilogy had on cinema.

“You showed the world something it had never seen before, and nothing was ever the same,” Wood told him. He also added: “He helped build an entirely new filmmaking culture at the far edge of the world.”

During his speech, Jackson looked back on how risky the Lord of the Rings trilogy once seemed to studios and the media. At the time, shooting all three films at once in New Zealand was viewed by many as an expensive gamble that could completely collapse if the first movie failed.

According to Jackson, things changed dramatically when he screened 20 minutes of footage from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Cannes back in 2001. “It changed the perception of the film,” he said.

The rest is movie history.