Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro took a dig at artificial intelligence (AI) yet again, during his acceptance speech at the 2025 edition of Gotham Awards held in New York on Tuesday.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker ended his speech with “F*** AI” while accepting a Vanguard Tribute for his latest Netflix film Frankenstein.
The 35th Annual Gotham Awards were a black-tie event held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Tuesday.
While accepting the honour, the filmmaker praised the cast and crew of the film, acknowledging everyone involved in bringing the film to life—from designers and makeup artists, cinematographers, composers, and editors. “The artistry of all of them shines on every single frame of this film that was willfully made by humans, for humans.”
He further stated, “It belongs to all of them, and I want to extend our gratitude and say, ‘f*ck AI.’”
Guillermo was accompanied by the film actors Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi at the award ceremony.
In earlier interactions, Guillermo had made it clear that he has no interest in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his movies.
Guillermo, known for films like Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim, said his concern with AI lies less in the technology itself and more in what he called “natural stupidity”.
Frankenstein is adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 eponymous novel. The story revolves around Victor Frankenstein (Oscar), a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature (Jacob) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
In his award acceptance speech at the Gotham Awards, Guillermo also said that apart from Mary Shelly’s writing, he was inspired by Hollywood actor Boris Karloff, the actor who played the monster in the 1931 Frankenstein film.
“I understood … through her work and the first glimpse of Boris Karloff, that I did not belong in the world the way my parents, the way the world, expected me to fit… That my place was in a faraway land inhabited only by monsters and misfits. They have been my kin ever since.”
“Working with artists as extraordinary as Oscar and Jacob has been truly one of the greatest privileges of my life, and in them, I found another family. They don’t play archetypes,” he added.
Premiered on 17 October, the sci-fi horror film also stars Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Christian Convery, Ralph Ineson, and Charles Dance.