YOUNG WASHINGTON GETS A TECH BOOST — Director Jon Erwin Spills on Using AI to Make History SAFER AND CHEAPER
The new historical drama starring William Franklyn-Miller as a young George Washington went high-tech to handle the trickiest scenes — and the director says it was a game-changer.
Jon Erwin's "Young Washington," hitting theaters nationwide Friday, is a period piece with a modern twist: the filmmaker tapped AI and advanced visual effects to solve real-world filmmaking headaches. According to Variety, when Erwin needed to shoot a harrowing near-drowning sequence involving a pre-Revolutionary War Washington and a companion, he found that fancy tech actually couldn't replace basic physics — but it sure could help elsewhere on set.
Erwin credits the AI tools and visual tech with making the production "safer and more affordable," Variety reports. The historical drama boasts a starry supporting cast including Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, Mary-Louise Parker, and Kelsey Grammer, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The flick tracks Washington's early military days before he became the nation's founding father. It's a bold move bringing cutting-edge filmmaking to a classic historical story — proving that even period dramas can get a 21st-century upgrade.
Sources · Variety · The Hollywood Reporter