Welcome to Rendering, a new Deadline column reporting on the intersection of AI and showbiz. Rendering explores how artificial intelligence is disrupting the entertainment industry, takes you to the key battlegrounds, and spotlights the change-makers leveraging the technology for better or worse.
Do you have a story about AI? Tell us about the next big innovation or why AI has taken away opportunities. Render wants your input. Contact: jkanter@deadline.com.
This week: Interview with Yonathan Doe, co-founder of Doe Brothers. His AI videos are taking the internet by storm and opening doors to Hollywood.
Few people know the name Yonatan Dor, but there’s a good chance you’ve come across his work while wandering the internet. Whether it’s a deepfake training video of Donald Trump honking a cigar horn in the back of a limousine or Kanye West wearing a Nazi uniform and riding a pink bicycle, Doe’s generative AI work racked up 500 million views last year alone.
These are numbers that will make AI haters go wild, but they’re winning Dor fans over. Joe Rogan praised his “incredible” video, and Doe collaborated with Snoop Dogg on a music video and directed an ad campaign for Hugo Boss. Do said that Hollywood studios are taking notice of his work and that he is close to realizing his ultimate ambition of making an artificial intelligence movie.
In the short time we spend together, as we sit in London’s Caravan Fitzrovia drinking peppermint tea, Doe’s contradictions and candid views make him a fascinating companion. The Lisbon-based creator is smartly dressed, but sports a bright red beard on his face that reminds him of his love for progressive metal music. He describes himself as an open book, but is coy about why his Israeli roots were canceled from an AI conference in the UK that week. He talks about AI filmmaking as an art form that could usher in the next Quentin Tarantino, but balks at the companies making billions from the technology (at one point he compares OpenAI to Skynet).
Dor, 27, was an early adopter of generative AI and boasted of being one of the first 100 users of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Runway. He fell in love with the “magic” of converting written prompts into images, spending 12 hours a day “grinding” to hone his skills. He’s currently a heavy user of Google’s Veo 3.1 and China’s Hailuo AI, but says a new, unknown platform could upend his entire workflow overnight.
He uses ChatGPT to refine his prompts, but says the technology is still being edited. Doe asks for a “diamond in the rough,” or “absolute cinematic” footage. his video riotReleased after this year’s Los Angeles riots, the film features quick cuts to Uncanny Valley shots of a gun-toting President Trump and a deranged Gavin Newsom wearing a rainbow headband. It teeters on specifics. “AI is like a cinematographer. It doesn’t sit on the DoP’s shoulder and fiddle with the camera. It waits for him to take the picture and sifts through what he gets,” Dor explains.
Does his work risk changing perceptions of reality by feeding the disinformation machine? “I hope so,” he unapologetically replies, before comparing himself to a court jester and poking fun at the kings of culture, politics and big tech.
In evidence to the Texas AI Select Committee last year, he advocated for invisible watermarking on synthetic content to distinguish it from real footage, but what would non-Internet savvy people do? “Every video we make, there’s one outrageous scene that’s so unrealistic that even if you’re like a 90-year-old grandma, you watch it and you’re like, ‘Okay, that doesn’t make any sense.’
Do, who co-founded the AI production company The Do Brothers with his quiet partner brother, believes hatred towards artificial intelligence is now at its peak. He is working on some top-secret projects with major consumer brands, but claims they never surface because he is too wary of the backlash against generative AI.
He says they’re “warming up the engines” to make AI more acceptable as a part of filmmaking. Do said this didn’t stop Coca-Cola from producing AI Christmas ads, but that they received backlash because they weren’t original or creative. “Why remake an ad that was made with a camera? It just makes people feel like they’re out of a job,” he argues.
Hollywood has also come calling, and the Doll brothers are in talks with studios and actors about making animated shorts. That rings true, considering that just days before our interview, Disney announced that it was experimenting with technology that would allow viewers to “create” and “consume” short-form AI videos. But the Do brothers’ ambitions lie elsewhere.
“Our main goal is to make movies,” explains Do. “My checklist is [a score of] There are over 8 on IMDB. ” He has several scripts in development (sequel for 20th Century Fox) stupidity is a dream project), collaborating with an Oscar-winning author. Mr. Doe won’t name the writer, but he has already established connections with Roger Avary and others. pulp fiction Co-author who served on the Doe Prize jury earlier this year. Logan Paul was also on the jury.
Jonathan Doll
high class conference
Do admits that AI filmmaking remains elusive because the technology isn’t ready yet and generative storytelling doesn’t “really resonate with people right now.” He predicts that both conditions will change over the next two years, but believes that AI filmmaking will only be successful when done in collaboration with human actors. He supports much of Hollywood when it comes to the issue of AI actors like Tilly Norwood. “This is the least fun thing ever for me,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s a pile of garbage.”
The Do brothers are currently looking for investment after turning down five approaches because Do was unable to secure the necessary guarantees regarding creative freedom. Although the company’s biggest expense is copyright lawyers to ensure videos are “clean,” Do is less concerned about provoking those in power with satirical videos. “We have a Banksy-like attitude to our work,” he says. “Comfort takes away the need to get better.”
If Doerr were to come to Hollywood, it’s unlikely he would do so quietly.
