Gore Verbinski Returns with Sci-Fi AI Comedy at Berlin

Gore Verbinski returned to directing with the sci-fi comedy "Good Luck, Have Fun, Dont Die," which premiered in the Special section of the Berlin Film Festival and hit theaters on February 13. The film stars Sam Rockwell as a time traveler from a dystopian future who bursts into a Los Angeles diner to recruit a group of ordinary patrons for a desperate mission to avert an artificial intelligence apocalypse.

In the story, Rockwell's character, known only as the Man From the Future, delivers a frantic opening monologue to the diner's customers, claiming he has attempted this recruitment dozens of times before. Strapped with a bomb and appearing disheveled, he convinces a ragtag team, including characters played by Haley Lu Richardson, Juno Temple, Zazie Beetz and Michael Pena, to join him on a one-night quest through a chaotic landscape. The narrative unfolds in a blend of present-day action and flashbacks that reveal how AI has infiltrated everyday life, from addictive cell phone use in schools to fractured relationships strained by digital distractions. These vignettes highlight societal vulnerabilities, touching on real-world issues like school shootings, while building toward...