The documentary uses AI to read the journals of one of the bands founding members.
The Rise Of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel documents the early days of the band, and is streaming now on Netflix.
Namely, the influence of their founding guitarist, Hillel Slovak, who passed away from a drug overdose in 1988, aged 26.
The doc features interviews from frontman Anthony Keidis, and bassist Flea, and follows their friendship origin story.
Slovak’s input however, is generated by AI.
Director Ben Feldman said via Netflix Tudum, that “With the blessing of Hillel’s family, we used AI to have Hillel’s voice reading his own journals.”
“That was a critical way to make his (words) feel alive.”
Despite being interviewed for the project, however, the band has attempted to distance themselves from it entirely.
In a statement, they said that they had “nothing to do with it creatively” and merely “agreed to be interviewed out of love and respect for Hillel and his memory.”
Whilst the doc manages to remember the important role of friendship in the Chilli Pepper’s formation, the band has said that “this documentary is now being advertised as a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary, which it is not.”
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