Bill Hader on AI, Cat in the Hat, Jonestown Series — SkimNews
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- Bill Hader told Variety's Entertainment & Technology Summit that younger people he's spoken with "seem to hate AI," attributing their distrust to awareness of who's building the technology and fear that "anything can be manipulated."
- Hader dismissed the idea that AI could match human filmmaking creativity, saying, "I haven't seen anything yet where I went, 'Whoa, that's better than Martin Scorsese.'"
- Hader directed and wrote a psychological horror film called "They Know," co-starring Linda Cardellini, and voiced the Cat in the Hat in a Warner Bros. animated adaptation due in November.
- Hader reunited on the Cat in the Hat project with co-director Erica Rivinoja, his former "South Park" colleague from nearly two decades ago.
- Hader described voice acting as physically grueling, saying performers "literally scream for four hours, saying the same line over and over" and recalling a post-session drive home from "Inside Out" when his "brain was just fried."
- Hader confirmed his Jonestown project is still in development at HBO with writer Daniel Zelman, calling the subject "very rough" but stressing "that's not a joke. That is true."
- Hader said he'd happily return for more "Documentary Now!" alongside Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Rhys Thomas, and John Mulaney, calling the IFC mockumentary "a very funny show."
Why it matters: Hader joins a growing ranks of A-list Hollywood creatives publicly skeptical of AI replacing human artisans like production designers, which studios investing in AI pipelines will need to navigate. His post-"Barry" slate — a horror film he wrote and directed, a Dr. Seuss voice role, and an HBO limited series on cult leader Jim Jones — shows him doubling down on darker, auteur-driven projects rather than chasing another comedy vehicle.
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