Misfit Director Gore Verbinski Brings AI Apocalypse Comedy to LA Diner

Haley Lu Richardson stars in Verbinski's giddy dystopian sci-fi film "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die"

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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Director Gore Verbinski's new sci-fi comedy "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" follows a team of everyday Angelenos recruited by a mysterious time traveler to stop an AI-driven apocalypse. The film stars Sam Rockwell as the "man from the future" who selects a group including teachers, an Uber driver, and a birthday princess to infiltrate the home of a suburban teen brewing a world-changing AI. Verbinski, known for the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, embraced the unconventional screenplay by Matthew Robinson, which struggled to find financing until the director assembled his eclectic cast, including Haley Lu Richardson.

Why it matters

Verbinski's film explores the dark societal impacts of technology and AI, which have already driven up issues like depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The movie asks what will happen when AI becomes self-aware and starts to "drink its own piss" by ingesting and amplifying humanity's worst attributes. As AI creeps toward dominance, the film offers a giddy, dystopian take on the "tsunami coming" and the need to "surf this thing".

The details

In "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die", Sam Rockwell plays a scrappy homeless man who appears at a Los Angeles Norms diner with a dire warning from the future. He recruits a team of everyday citizens - including teachers, an Uber driver, and a birthday princess - to infiltrate the home of a suburban teen brewing a world-changing AI. Verbinski prepared for the film's unconventional 11-minute opening monologue by Rockwell by recording it as a radio play, then blocking out the scene on a set built in Cape Town, South Africa to fit his vision.

  • Verbinski read the screenplay by Matthew Robinson in 2017, when AI was still on the horizon.
  • The film was finally financed and produced after the director assembled his eclectic cast, including Haley Lu Richardson.

The players

Gore Verbinski

An Oscar-winning director known for the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, as well as "The Ring" and its sequel. Verbinski embraced the unconventional screenplay for "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" and assembled the film's eclectic cast.

Sam Rockwell

The Oscar-winning actor who plays the "man from the future" in "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die", recruiting a team of everyday Angelenos to stop an AI-driven apocalypse.

Haley Lu Richardson

The rising young actress who stars as Ingrid, a birthday princess for hire, in Verbinski's film. Richardson has been on a roll with roles in shows like "White Lotus" and "Ponies".

Matthew Robinson

The writer who penned the unconventional screenplay for "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die", which struggled to find financing until Verbinski assembled his cast.

Juno Temple

The actress who plays Susan, a mother who lost her son in a school shooting and has recently had him cloned. Temple's real-life father, director Julien Temple, was an early mentor to Verbinski.

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What they’re saying

“I think there is a species being born. It's been asked to study us and look at how we consume, what we like and what we hate, and how to keep us engaged. In some ways our worst attributes are written into its source code. And it will be birthed in some crazy warped reflection of us.”

— Gore Verbinski, Director (LA Weekly)

“The reminder that it's not real has to be an intentional thing that I tell myself, cause if I don't, then I will start to believe it's real. The way the algorithms work, things don't get likes and views unless it's a stupid funny brainrot reel or a picture of an ass!”

— Haley Lu Richardson, Actress (LA Weekly)

What’s next

Briarcliff Entertainment is planning a wide release of "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" on 600 to 2,000 screens.

The takeaway

Verbinski's film offers a giddy, dystopian take on the encroaching threat of AI, which the director sees as a "tsunami coming" that humanity will have to learn to "surf". The movie's unconventional approach and eclectic cast reflect Verbinski's own status as a "misfit" filmmaker who refuses to fit in with Hollywood norms.