Antony Starr Sides With Backrooms Director, Slams AI Movie Casting as Horrible

If you thought the AI debates in Hollywood were slowing down, Antony Starr (you know, Mr 'Homelander' from The Boys) has just lobbed another, slightly sarcastic grenade into the mix—this time, coming out on the side of teenage horror prodigy and Backrooms director Kane Parsons. Starr's blunt comments about AI and the dubious quality of AI-generated films have sparked a bit of buzz, especially considering how openly he mocked the idea of artificial intelligence replacing actual human storytelling.

Starr: 'People want human stories, not big, ridiculous VFX-driven nonsense'

First, here’s what actually happened. Starr jumped onto his Instagram Story to echo Parsons' recent anti-AI statements. He reposted a piece about Parsons' opinions, then scribbled his own thoughts over it:

'Yes, yes. It’s coming NMW bla bla. But recent movies have proven that people want human stories. Not big, ridiculous VFX-driven nonsense.'

And then, in case the point wasn't spicy enough, he jokingly mused about AI movie premieres, claiming:

'The cast are horrible, and they hate their human fans.'

Can't fault the delivery for subtlety, at least.

Kane Parsons: Just Say No (But Maybe Let's Talk About It)

In case you missed Parsons' original take, the Backrooms director was talking to The Australian about where he stands on AI. He describes himself as being firmly with the 'well-adjusted' crowd who have no interest in generative AI draining the humanity out of films. Parsons said that, if he had a superpower, he'd use it to just 'snap away' generative AI entirely, since (as he put it):

'Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.'

Now, to be fair, he's not ignoring all the ways AI might actually speed up some of the more mind-numbing visual effects work—he gets the upside. Parsons just refuses to look at those benefits in a vacuum, since, in his view, the technology is already causing 'genuinely harmful consequences.'

Still, AI as a Theme? Absolutely.

Parsons isn't anti-AI as a topic—just as a tool. In fact, he's keen to dig into what AI means, culturally and artistically. In his words:

'To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot. I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.'

Quick Recap: Who Said What?

• Antony Starr says audiences want actual stories and slams AI-generated casts with a healthy dose of mockery.
• Kane Parsons reckons AI undercuts the soul of filmmaking, but he's up for examining it as a threat or subject onscreen—just not behind the camera.
• Both of them agree: AI isn’t the cure-all the industry might hope, at least not when it comes to storytelling.