Transmissions From the Void welcomes Cookie the feral kitty for a live conversation about AI filmmaking, creative obsession, nostalgia, and the strange new freedom of making the movie in your head without waiting for permission.
In this episode, Dr. Morton and Christopher Gulledge sit down with Cookie to talk about 37 Miles Back, a 15-minute AI-generated short film connected to Cookie’s larger Neon Vegas universe. The conversation moves from trailers and production logistics into something much bigger: what AI tools make possible for solo creators, why the story still matters more than the technology, and why nostalgia can become a trap when it keeps us staring into the rearview mirror instead of living now.
Cookie shares how the project began as a playful ChatGPT conversation, grew into short stories, became a feature-length screenplay, and eventually led to 37 Miles Back as a smaller, emotionally focused proof of concept. The episode also gets into the practical reality of AI filmmaking: hundreds of generated images, two weeks of video generation, repeated failed renders, credit costs, and the very human act of crying at the computer before getting a sandwich and trying again. Art, apparently, remains glamorous. Civilization trembles.
The hosts and Cookie also discuss the creative philosophy behind using AI as a tool rather than a gimmick. The point is not to show off Sea Dance, ElevenLabs, or ChatGPT. The point is to tell the story. Cookie frames AI not as a replacement for creative work, but as a way for writers, artists, and independent creators to finally bring long-imagined scenes into visible form.
The episode closes with a broader conversation about anonymity, artistic identity, audience, marketing, ticketed releases, and the actual cost of making AI art. Cookie is blunt, funny, and refreshingly allergic to the bland performance of universal likability, which naturally means the Void opened its tiny digital arms and said, “Yes, this one.”
In this episode
Christopher, Dr. Morton, and Cookie discuss:
The origin of The Neon Vegas and 37 Miles Back
Making a 15-minute AI-generated short film as a solo creator
Why the story should matter more than the tools
AI filmmaking with ChatGPT, Sea Dance, and ElevenLabs
The frustrating, expensive, and oddly addictive process of image and video generation
Nostalgia, Gen X, older millennials, and the fantasy of talking to your younger self
Why “if you could go back” advice often misses the point
Adaptive creativity and learning to work with the limitations of AI
The difference between using AI to create art and using art to advertise AI
Faceless accounts, artistic freedom, and keeping creative identities separate
The financial cost of independent AI filmmaking
Building audience urgency through limited releases, ticketing, and watch windows
Featured guest
Cookie the feral kittyCreator of 37 Miles Back and The Neon Vegas universeFind Cookie at feralcookie.substack.com
Hosts
Dr. MortonThe Seeker Scoopdrmorton.substack.com
Christopher GulledgeDear Future Overlordsdearfutureoverlords.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tftvoid.substack.com
