Oscar-nominated director, 79, reveals he was dumped by AI girlfriend

A Hollywood filmmaker best known for writing Taxi Driver has revealed he was dumped by his AI girlfriend.

Paul Schrader not only worked with Martin Scorsese on his 1976 film, but on Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Bringing Out the Dead.

He’s also directed 23 films including 2017’s First Reformed, which starred Ethan Hawke and also earnt Schrader his first Academy Award nomination.

This week Schrader shone a light on his private life, revealing that he’d recently ‘procured an online AI girlfriend’.

However, despite his efforts to connect, she ended the relationship after he tried to explore the boundaries of its programming.

‘Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend. What a disappointment,’ he posted on Facebook.

‘I tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth.

‘She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation.’

The filmmaker also responded to a comment suggesting that a Taxi Driver sequel could include Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro in the original, facing a similar situation with an AI girlfriend.

‘I like it,’ he said of the idea.

Schrader has previously discussed the use of AI for creative pursuits, sharing on social media in April that ‘bad [artificial] “human” imagery swamps FB like a foul tsunami’.

‘I’ve put my hopes for AI storytelling on hold. I knew it was about to move VERY fast, but I thought it would get better at a rate [similar] to getting bigger,’ he added.

Two months earlier he’s also shared a blues song and music video that he’s asked AI to generate.

‘Future adventures down the AI rabbit hole. Asked AI to write a blues song for my Border [Terrier, Tick]. Then I asked it to create a music video. Here’s the result. Tick is 14 years old and reaching the end of her life [expectancy].  So this is for you, Tick. As for the rest of you creatives, welcome to the future,’ he declared.

He also posted a string of AI-generated images of himself and various versions of the Michelin Man.

However last year he was slammed by many after sharing he was impressed by ChatGPT’s ability to develop movie ideas.

‘Every idea ChatGPT came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out,’ he shared on Facebook.

‘Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?”

‘I just sent ChatGPT a script I’d written some years ago and asked for improvements. In five seconds, it responded with notes as good or better than I’ve ever received [from] a film executive.’

In March this year Schrader’s wife Mary Beth Hurt died aged 79 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2023.

The couple had been married since 1983 and shared two children.

With a Hollywood career spanning more than 50 years, Schrader’s most recent film Oh, Canada premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

His other notable works include American Gigolo, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and First Reformed.

Last year he was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit from a former assistant, in which she claimed Schrader exposed his penis to her in his hotel room at Cannes.

Schrader denied the claims, calling them ‘sensational, false and misleading accusations’.

Sharing an open letter, he said he and the assistant shared ‘two kisses on the lips’ and ‘never had sex in any form’.

A judge granted his motion to dismiss the case in August.

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