Martin Scorsese, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Discuss Perils of Modern Tech and AI at WSJ Innovator Awards: ‘It’s the Humans Who Do the Innovating and Entertaining’
Martin Scorsese and Julia Louis-Dreyfus touched on the profound possibilities and perils of modern technology in their speeches at the 2023 WSJ Innovator Awards on Wednesday night.
During his acceptance speech for the Film Innovator Award, Scorsese recounted the first time he used a Steadicam while shooting his 1980 boxing drama “Raging Bull.” “At this point it’s brand new,” he says about the camera stabilizer mount which was first introduced in 1975.
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“I got in the ring and De Niro’s in there and I looked at the rushes and I realized I actually foolishly expected the tools to do the work,” he said. “It meant nothing. I had to redirect the scene, the tool itself was not gonna give me something new.”
That initial failure led Scorsese to arguably one of the most memorable scenes in his directing career: The long take in “Goodfellas,” in which the camera goes from the street into the Copacabana. “That’s where I learned how to use the tool.”
“So for me,” Scorsese continued, “the technology of today is as profound a change as the Industrial Revolution. We have no idea how it’s going to affect all of us, but with these tools, it creates possibilities we’d never dream of. These tools create a whole new form of moviemaking, of cinema. But it has to come from the artist, it has to come from the person, it has to come from us. That’s the way it’s always been for me, and that’s the way I’ll continue to be as long as I’m given the grace to go on and make a couple more pictures.”
Louis-Dreyfus, who was honored with the Comedy Innovator Award, also focused on the prevailing importance of the artist amidst rapidly advancing technology — by reciting a humorous Chat GPT-created speech to highlight its pitfalls. “I am deeply honored to be in you company. And the honor of receiving… this honor. Thank you, and again thank you. For this incredible honor.”
“In the end, folks,” she concluded, “it’s the humans who do the innovating and the entertaining.”
Meanwhile, SZA opened up about her anxiety in her acceptance speech for the Music Innovator Award, admitting that she cried during the magazine’s photoshoot and when she got to the event.
“My main thought is I’m doing everything wrong,” she said. “And I realized that doing everything wrong is, I guess, part of who I am and how I got here.”
She recounts when she began writing her latest album, “SOS,” and planned to work with “amazing writers who had all these credentials,” who all ended up dropping out.
“None of them showed up for me and I was forced to write by myself and that led me down a blessed path,” she said. “Doing everything wrong is the key to innovation. It’s about choosing to be an individual by allowing yourself to fail in front of others.”
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City was transformed into a yellow-hued space for the event, where Kylie Jenner, Ed Ruscha, Walter Hood and Jerry Lorenzo were also honored. Timothée Chalamet, Trevor Noah, Molly Gordon, Marc Jacobs and Haider Ackermann presented awards, with stars such as Martha Stewart, Linda Evangelista and Lily Aldridge also in attendance.
After the ceremony and three-course dinner, attendees filed into the museum’s lower level to enjoy a cocktail reception that included an open bar and dessert. On the way out, guests were treated to a WSJ Magazine tote bag that contained an $1,000 Roche Bobois gift card.
WSJ Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards was sponsored by Harry Winston, Hyundai Motor America, Montblanc, Rémy Martin and Roche Bobois.
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