# Maggie Gyllenhaal Was Asked to Use AI to Recreate Marilyn Monroe. But it Flopped Compared to Dakota Johnson

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/maggie-gyllenhaal-was-asked-to-use-ai-to-recreate-marilyn-monroe-but-it-flopped-compared-to-dakota-johnson/
- Published: 2026-09-05T16:12:47+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-05T22:17:17+00:00
- Original publisher: The Hollywood Reporter
- Original article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/maggie-gyllenhaal-ai-marilyn-monroe-film-dakota-johnson-1236691657/
- Topics: AI, Government, Politics, Research, Science, Technology

## Key points

- Gyllenhaal scrapped an AI-generated Marilyn Monroe from her short film
- Dakota Johnson's live performance was judged far more moving than the AI version
- She warned AI cost-cutting could squeeze traditional film financing

## Summary

Maggie Gyllenhaal has revealed that a fully AI-generated recreation of Marilyn Monroe was scrapped from her short film "Flesh Impact" after it proved far less compelling than Dakota Johnson's live-action performance. Speaking at a Venice Film Festival creativity summit, she said producers had asked her to use licensable AI, trained on licensed Monroe footage, to overlay the star's face onto Johnson's; she ultimately discarded the AI version, calling it lifeless compared with the emotion Johnson brought to the role. She also warned more broadly that AI-driven cost-cutting in filmmaking mainly benefits the companies licensing the technology rather than filmmakers themselves, and could make it harder for directors to secure traditional budgets in future.

The 17-minute film, made with the blessing of Monroe's estate holder Authentic Brands Group, stars Johnson as Monroe in her prime and Ellen Burstyn as an imagined older version of the star, who died aged 36 in 1962; Peter Sarsgaard and Sepideh Moafi also feature. Gyllenhaal cautioned that if AI can cut a $40 million production to $4 million, or even $40,000, financiers may stop backing films made "the old way", a concern she raised without naming who specifically requested the AI version. Her comments went viral alongside separate remarks at the festival's opening press conference, where she questioned why so few women directors featured in this year's main competition. "Flesh Impact" is set to have its world premiere at Venice on 7 September.

## Coverage

- [The Hollywood Reporter: Maggie Gyllenhaal Was Asked to Use AI to Recreate Marilyn Monroe. But it Flopped Compared to Dakota Johnson](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/maggie-gyllenhaal-ai-marilyn-monroe-film-dakota-johnson-1236691657/)
- [Variety: How Maggie Gyllenhaal Used Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn to Reimagine Marilyn Monroe at 100 in Venice Short ‘Flesh Impact’](https://variety.com/2026/film/awards/gyllenhaal-flesh-impact-marilyn-monroe-dakota-johnson-venice-1236852103/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.