AI brings Wizard of Oz to life like never before in Las Vegas

Sin City visitors will have the opportunity to experience the classic film at the Sphere starting Aug. 28

Rowan Dunne

Published

14 hours ago

Artificial intelligence is bringing a classic film to Las Vegas in a spectacular manner that the world has never seen.

Starting Aug. 28, many will be off to see The Wizard of Oz light up the Sphere with unprecedented size and scale. Through the use of AI, the 1939 movie is being brought to life with 16K resolution, 167,000 speakers and never-before-seen visual effects on a screen larger than four football fields.

The creative project is a collaboration between the venue, Warner Bros. Discovery, the LA software company Magnopus and Google Cloud + DeepMind. Over 2,000 bodies have been working to bring the old timey magic to Nevada’s iconic city for the past two years. The massive undertaking has cost at least US$80 million.

“Al has touched over 90 per cent of the movie,” said Google Cloud’s AI engineering lead, Ravi Rajamani, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

It’s not just a visual presentation either. Sources are reporting that the theatre will have fans blowing and other immersive effects contributing to the overall experience. Sphere CEO James Dolan says there will also be smells and a variety of sensory elements, but many of the specifics are not being disclosed until opening day.

“We’re here to make sure that everyone gets a great experience of feeling like they’re in the The Wizard of Oz,” said renowned visual effects artist, Glenn Derry, “and that includes sound, touch, sight and smell.”

Dolan explained that Google was the only company capable of meeting this challenge on the world’s highest LED screen in an April press release.

“Imagine stepping into a world where classic cinema is not just viewed but experienced in a whole new dimension,” one social media user described.

Tickets for the immersive fantasy film showcase start at US$114 per person.