‘Frankenstein’ Director Guillermo del Toro: Saying ‘Art Is Not Important’ Is a ‘Prelude to Fascism’

Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro warned against the dismissal of art, calling it a “prelude to fascism.”

The Frankenstein director issued his warning when accepting the honor at Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards brunch during the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

“Be kind, be involved, believe in your art,” he said. “At a time when people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a fucking app can do art you say, if it’s that important, why the fuck do they want it so bad? The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book, and in my life, includes monsters.”

The acclaimed director has been on a crusade for the preservation of artistic integrity for several months amid the ongoing rise of generative-AI. At the Gotham Awards this past December, he even exclaimed “Fuck AI!”

“I’d like to tell the rest of our extraordinary cast and our crew that the artistry of all of them shines on every single frame of this film that was willfully made by humans, for humans,” he said. “The designers, builders, make-up, wardrobe team, cinematographers, composers, editors, this tribute belongs to all of them. I would like to extend our gratitude and say: Fuck AI.”

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.