Yonatan Dor: The Viral AI Filmmaker Aiming for Hollywood, Recognized by Joe Rogan and Collaborating with Snoop Dogg

Introducing Rendering, a new column exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and entertainment. Rendering delves into how AI is reshaping the industry, highlighting innovators who are harnessing the technology in groundbreaking ways.

This week, we spotlight Yonatan Dor, co-founder of The Dor Brothers, whose AI-generated videos have gone viral online and are catching the attention of Hollywood. You might not recognize his name immediately, but chances are youve encountered his creationsfrom a deepfake of Donald Trump smoking a cigar in a limo to Kanye West riding a pink bicycle in a provocative outfit. Dors content accumulated over half a billion views last year, earning admiration from some and outrage from skeptics.

Joe Rogan has praised Dors work as incredible, while Dor has collaborated with Snoop Dogg on a music video and directed a campaign for Hugo Boss. Hollywood studios are now keeping an eye on his output as he pursues his ultimate dream: an AI-driven feature film.

During a meeting in Londons Caravan Fitzrovia over peppermint tea, Dor, a Lisbon-based creator, impressed with his combination of intellect, bold opinions, and distinctive stylea red beard reflecting his love for progressive metal. He spoke openly about AI filmmaking as an art form capable of producing the next Tarantino, yet he criticized companies profiting massively from AI, likening OpenAI to Skynet.

At 27, Dor was an early adopter of generative AI tools, among the first users of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Runway. He dedicated hours each day perfecting his craft. Currently, he works with platforms like Googles Veo 3.1 and Chinas Hailuo AI, refining prompts with ChatGPT, though he emphasizes that the real artistry lies in editing. Dor seeks the diamond in the roughfootage that reaches cinematic quality.

His video Riot, released after the LA unrest, blends uncanny AI-generated imagery of figures like Trump and Gavin Newsom, teetering between realism and satire. Dor describes AI as a director of photography: you capture the material, then craft it into something meaningful. Asked if his work risks spreading misinformation, he responds unapologetically, comparing himself to a jester critiquing politics, culture, and tech.

Dor advocates for invisible watermarks on AI content to distinguish it from real footage, noting that even viewers unfamiliar with technology can spot implausible scenes. His production company, The Dor Brothers, often develops secret projects for major brands, cautious of backlash against generative AI. He believes the peak of AI skepticism is happening now and sees a future where AI filmmaking becomes mainstream.

Despite setbacks, like criticism over a Coca-Cola AI ad, Hollywood interest is growing. Studios and actors are exploring animated shorts with The Dor Brothers, and Disney has begun experimenting with AI-enabled short-form content. However, Dors primary ambition remains long-form cinema. He aims to produce films that achieve critical acclaim, with multiple scripts in developmentincluding a potential sequel to Idiocracyand collaborations with an Oscar-winning writer.

Dor acknowledges that AI-driven storytelling is not yet emotionally resonant, predicting improvements over the next two years. He believes AI filmmaking will succeed most when combined with human performers, dismissing AI-generated actors as uninteresting. His company is currently seeking investment but prioritizes creative freedom, spending heavily on copyright protection while maintaining a satirical, boundary-pushing approach akin to Banksy.

Yonatan Dor is poised to challenge Hollywood on his own terms, blending AI innovation with bold artistic vision.

Author: Noah Whitman