Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) has invested $5 million and over a decade into Stanislavsky, an AI system that directs digital characters using method acting techniques rather than simple emotion tags. According to Variety, instead of telling AI to "look sad," you'd prompt it with "His dog died yesterday, and the sunset is reminding him."
The platform launches in December and got its first real-world test on Mercy (Chris Pratt, releasing January 23 via Amazon MGM Studios).
What Makes It Different:
Script-to-shots workflow: Feed in a screenplay and Stanislavsky proposes shot sequences, which the team refines collaboratively within the platform. Cinematography, production design, and editorial notes all happen in one interface.
Psychological prompts: The system is built around contextual, actor-psychology-style direction rather than high-level emotion labels. Named after Konstantin Stanislavski, whose techniques underpin modern method acting.
Previsualization on steroids: Bekmambetov delivered a nearly finished AI-generated cut of Mercy to the studio before shooting a single live-action frame. He claims this reduced mid-production notes.
Next test case: The Man with a Shattered World, where only one professional actor (still unannounced) will appear alongside largely AI-generated characters.
