The Director of a Provocative 3-Hour Dracula Film Claims AI Is Distasteful and Sleazy—Here’s Why He Employed It.

Running close to three hours and filled with genuine AI images (including Count Dracula and the Romanian warlord Vlad Tepes, who inspired the legendary vampire), the film feels almost purposefully draining. In a current environment where many in the film and creative sectors regard generative AI as a threat to both their craft and careers, Jude’s incorporation of the technology has sparked debate. After all, playful, satirical, and risqué AI-produced images are still, fundamentally, AI-generated.

During a Zoom call following a screening at the recent New York Film Festival, with an AI-created backdrop, one doubtful cinephile quipped that Jude himself was officially “on fraud watch.”

Jude finds himself ensnared in a complex situation similar to those depicted in his films. His work has previously integrated mock-executions to delve into the repression of historical memory, pornography to challenge cultural hypocrisy surrounding adult sexuality, and misogynist attitudes to examine their allure. With Dracula, he uses AI to criticize AI? Or—as some traditionalists argue—is resorting to this technology a betrayal of cinema and the essence of human creativity?

To explore this, WIRED interviewed Jude, who joined from France via Zoom, with an AI-generated image of Donald Trump holding an AR-15 rifle while riding a cartoon cat as his backdrop.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

WIRED: Who’s that behind you? President Trump?

Radu Jude: I used this image at a European festival where I was invited to give an online talk. Now that I’m discussing my film with American friends, I thought I’d share something they would appreciate. This image was shared by Trump himself when he was campaigning as the champion of cats and dogs.