Hollywood is Using Practical Effects Again: Why More Movies and TV Shows Should Embrace It 

After the debate surrounding the use of AI in Oscar-nominated movies such as The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez and Maria, there’s some good news for fans (and those who work in the entertainment industry) who prefer Hollywood to go old school. Practical effects are making a comeback, and we can once again enjoy movies and TV shows again that aren’t overly digitally altered or created entirely with the help of software. The art of real effects is back, think real explosions, on-set designs, and actors acting side-by-side with actual props, instead of just acting in front of a green screen.  The Green Screen Grief  A good example of how AI or digital effects can impact actors is the curious case of Sir Ian McKellen. While filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy, McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf, enjoyed the experience since director Peter Jackson used practical effects. So, when McKellen was asked to reprise his role for The Hobbit trilogy, the X-Men actor eagerly signed up, unaware that Jackson had decided to switch things up and use more digital effects. This shift meant McKellen would be acting alone in front of green screens, a big difference from his experience on LOTR, where he built strong relationships with his co-stars—so much so that they even got matching tattoos when the movie wrapped!  In an interview with Time Out, McKellen said of his struggles acting alone in front of a green screen: “I was miserable. It may be my impression, but I don’t remember a green screen on ‘The Lord of the Rings’. If Gandalf was on top of a mountain, I’d be there on the mountain. The technology was being invented while we were making the film. [In ‘The Lord of the Rings’] I wasn’t involved in any of that, I was away acting on a mountain.”  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZWrKZnXaLew Ian McKellen BROKE DOWN and cried on the Hobbit set | Middle Earth Updates The Comeback of Practical Effects  Recent movies and TV shows have started bringing practical effects back again. One example is that of The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda. Fans have Werner Herzog to thank for that, as the creators almost went with CGI, even if they already have a functioning puppet. Screen Rant reported that in one instance, Herzog saw that the creators were preparing to shoot without the puppet, worried it wouldn’t look good on screen. Herzog told them, “You are cowards. Leave it.”  Jon M. Chu’s Wicked also relied heavily on practical effects. Sure, it might be easier to just CGI the yellow brick road, but production director Nathan Crowley told Elle Decor, “We have to give the actors enough set to help them get into character.” It was all worth it since the movie took home Best Production Design in the recently concluded Academy Awards.  That said, we’re not discrediting the incredible advancements in digital technology, which have given us some of the most visually stunning films, like Dune and Avatar. However, there’s something undeniably magical about practical effects, and it's high time more movies and TV shows moved away from just using CGI. Filmmaking has evolved, and there’s no reason we can’t embrace the best of both worlds—real effects and digital magic.