Danny Boyle Admits: 30 Seconds of AI-Generated Footage in Ink

Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, has openly admitted that his latest film Ink uses generative artificial intelligence. It's a rare case of an established filmmaker disclosing AI use in a theatrical production himself, rather than waiting for audiences to discover it.

Ink is a biographical drama about the founding of the British tabloid The Sun, based on James Graham's 2017 play. It stars Jack O'Connell as Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch. The film received warm reviews after its Venice screening, where it competed for the Golden Lion.

What the AI actually did

Boyle explained that artificial intelligence was used to bring several archival photographs to life, giving them motion in the film as though someone had breathed life into them. The second application was generating digital mice scurrying around The Sun's newsroom.

There's about 30 seconds of it in our movie, where we animate a couple of old photographs - Danny Boyle, director

The director explained that his choice to use AI for animals stemmed from past controversies over using live animals on set, including criticism over the chimpanzees in 28 Days Later. According to him, artificial intelligence is excellent at generating animals, which avoids animal welfare issues on set.

AI is very, very good at creating animals... We got some mice in this one that run around The Sun newsroom - Danny Boyle, director

The director's conditions

Boyle isn't rejecting the technology, but insists its use must be ethical. He stressed that AI is a useful tool, provided it is used respectfully and that actors are paid if their digital likenesses are used to replace them.

it's a very useful tool in many ways, provided you use it respectfully and provided you pay actors if you're going to replace them with some kind of AI embodiment - Danny Boyle, director

Suspicions over historical figures

The story gained an extra dimension after some viewers began scrutinizing the appearance of historical figures in the film, including Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray. The end credits list an AI visual effects specialist, which further fueled speculation that the technology's use may have gone beyond what the director himself acknowledged.

Boyle has not yet publicly addressed these specific claims. Filmmakers rarely admit to using generative AI in their productions, wary of backlash from audiences and actors' unions, which is why even a partial admission from such a well-known director sparked lively debate in the industry.

What it means for the film industry

The Ink case shows that generative AI is entering mainstream cinema not through the back door, but increasingly with filmmakers' open acknowledgment, as they try to set their own rules for its use before studios or regulators do it for them. For Poland's film and advertising market, where disputes over AI in audiovisual production are just heating up, Boyle's example offers a possible communication model: limited, precisely described use instead of silence.

The question of where animating an old photograph ends and creating the likeness of a deceased person without their heirs' consent begins remains open, and will likely resurface with future historical or biographical film releases as the cost and availability of generative tools continue to fall.

The next test for the industry will be the reaction of actors' and directors' guilds once the film reaches a wider audience on Netflix in January 2027, when more viewers and critics will be able to judge for themselves the extent of AI use in the production.