Director Maggie Gyllenhaal stated on 2026-05-23 that she stopped using generative AI video tools in her film 'Flesh Impact' because the technology did not function effectively. ^[1] Maggie Gyllenhaal decided to exclude AI-generated material from her new project about Marilyn Monroe after testing the technology and finding it did not achieve the desired result. ^[2] Maggie Gyllenhaal explained that the project producers requested she use AI, which was trained with licensed footage of Marilyn Monroe. ^[3] The director concluded that the AI-generated footage was less moving, human, and alive compared to Dakota Johnson's performance. ^[4] Gyllenhaal admitted she initially agreed to use the AI with curiosity but ultimately discarded the AI output because Dakota Johnson's human performance was far more moving, human, and alive. ^[5] Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is presiding over the Venice Film Festival jury this year, presented a 17-minute short film titled 'Flesh Impact' where Dakota Johnson plays the star in her prime and Ellen Burstyn portrays her as an older woman. ^[6] Maggie Gyllenhaal stated that the AI process involved considerable work but the result did not convince the filmmaker, leading her to discard it because Dakota Johnson's performance was much more moving, human, and alive. ^[7] Maggie Gyllenhaal, who presides over the Venice Film Festival jury this year, directed Flesh Impact, a story imagining how Marilyn Monroe's life would have been had she not died in 1962. ^[8] The actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal stated on Friday in Venice that the AI tool was tested during the production of Flesh Impact, a 17-minute short film presented at the festival, but was ultimately discarded. ^[9] Gyllenhaal admitted she initially agreed to use the AI out of curiosity before deciding to discard the results. ^[10]