The massive Las Vegas venue known as Sphere will screen its first classic movie, *The Wizard of Oz*, starting on August 28. This isn’t just a simple projection of the existing film onto Sphere’s 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED screen. Instead, Sphere Entertainment CEO James Dolan explained that a 2,000-person team is crafting a completely new experience.
The team is using AI to enhance the original film in two key ways. First, they are increasing the resolution of the footage to make it sharper and more detailed. Second, they are expanding scenes beyond the original frame through a process called outpainting. Turner Classic Movies presenter Ben Mankiewicz described how a grainy close-up of Dorothy transforms into a richly detailed image, revealing previously unseen elements like the Scarecrow, the Yellow Brick Road, and the mountains of Oz.
In some cases, expanding the frame also means generating new performances from the original actors using AI. Despite these technological advancements, Dolan emphasized that the goal was not to alter the film but to immerse viewers as if they were on set when the movie was originally filmed.