WILD CARD, The Bruce Ryder Story

Australia's first AI Celebrity just broke the rules of the meta-verse and the laws of story-telling forever. This film introduces retro playboy turned icon who speaks to the Wild Card in all of us.

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When a mugshot of AI movie star Bruce Ryder hit the front page in 1978, the tabloids erupted and the legend of 'The Cavil' began.

Set against a reimagined Gold Coast in the late '70s, WILD CARD chronicles the wild rise of Bruce Ryder, Australia's first AI celebrity, a cocktail-slinging digital playboy turned metaverse icon. As he navigates fame, scandal, and synthetic stardom, one question remains: what really happened the night of the Cavill Avenue mugshot?

Blending real archival footage with AI-generated visuals, this three-minute short fuses Australian nostalgia and the cultural rituals that shaped a generation. Written and produced by Miss Em of Duke and Dame AI, with generative AI animation by Miss Em and Halim Alrasihi, WILD CARD sets the dial to good times and lands in the golden era of Australia.

The Film's Unique Development ##

The development of this film marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration, where the real Bruce Ryder's online fan base co-narrated the story arc through interactive voting, allowing the narrative to be shaped by audience imagination. This film isn’t just a story about an AI celebrity, it represents an innovation in storytelling that breaks the 5th wall, known as Hyper-Fiction, where the viewer becomes part of the story, not just a spectator.

Hyper-Fiction

Bruce is part gaming, part social media influencer, existing within a new genre born from the rise of real-time storytelling.

He blends the emotive traits of a social media figure who speaks directly to a fan base that knows he’s fictional, yet eagerly plays along with the games he creates. What began with simple voting has evolved into an interactive platform featuring a live AI radio show, where followers engage in real time. The film was the first experiment to test audience willingness to participate and it proved that followers no longer want to passively consume a narrative. They want to play inside it.

How I built it

Bruce Ryder is a custom AI character developed through a hybrid creative process that mirrors traditional character development. From hand-drawn concept art and graphic illustration to generative AI design, LoRA training, environment galleries, tone and colour guides, and a custom-engineered voice, Bruce is a one-of-a-kind creation. His development took three months, while the world-building became a live, real-time experiment over 12 months.

One thing’s certain: Bruce Ryder broke the rules of the metaverse and rewrote the future of storytelling.

Built With

  • elevenlabs
  • filmora
  • hedra
  • klingai
  • midjourney
  • runway
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