You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: Is AI being considered to re-create missing silent movie frames, or entire scenes and movies from scripts?

A: As a report from the Pulitzer Center said not long ago, AI is being used not only for restoring silent films but also repairing decay and damage such as that from the Los Angeles wildfires.

The DRS Nova MTai FrameGen software, which won an Emmy, “uses generative artificial intelligence to reconstruct missing frames in damaged film reels,” the report said. “It stands at the forefront of film restoration and is in the center of ongoing debates in the film industry about how, when, and whether AI should be used to preserve cinematic classics. … In the film restoration community, some worry that AI tools may overcorrect, removing the subtle detail and emotional depth that give the original material its character.”

One example of the caution about AI is an acclaimed new reconstruction of Erich von Stroheim’s unfinished 1929 film “Queen Kelly," with Gloria Swanson. Dennis Doros of Milestone Films, the man behind this 2025 version, said he did not use AI in re-creating scenes or replacing damaged frames. “Just don’t believe in it,” he told me. AI was used, as is common, to find dust and scratches in the film used to prepare this and “to remove a lot of the dust, BUT every frame is seen by the lab technician (Ian Bostick in our case) to make sure nothing else is removed,” Doros said.

Q: When will the “Mile 22” sequel be released?

A: For those of you tuning in late, “Mile 22” is a 2018 action movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a tough CIA operative and directed by Peter Berg. The movie was thought to be the setup for an action franchise and talk about a sequel began even before it was released. But reviews were bad (23% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the box-office returns unimpressive, so the sequel talk died down. While the talk rose up again when the movie proved popular on Netflix, prompting at least one fan-based sequel trailer on social media, I’ve seen nothing official about a second movie.

Q: Will there be a second season of “Mobland”?

A: The crime drama featuring Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren was renewed for a second season in June. Paramount+ said the series had drawn 26 million viewers within its first few months on the air, making it the second-most-watched original series for the streaming service, behind only “Landman.”

Q: My friends who are big fans of “The White Lotus” are trying to predict where Season 4 will take place. Guesses include Australia, the French Riviera or Monaco. Any ideas?

A: News coming out of the recent Emmy Awards named the location as the south of France. Season 3 stars Parkey Posey and Jason Isaacs both spilled that info according to published reports. Previous seasons have been in Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand.

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