Are moviegoers ever going to accept films created using AI? And just as importantly, will the creatives who work in the industry be cool with letting the tech play a heavy role in the filmmaking process?
The bitter response to a new “AI actress” suggests that the answer to both questions, at least for now, is a ringing “no.”
On Sunday, the creator of the digital acting persona named “Tilly Norwood” defended her brainchild after pretty much everyone said they hated it — including, most notably, actors.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Eline Van der Velden, founder of the AI firm Particle 6 Productions, said in a statement posted to Instagram. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
Norwood’s turn in the crosshairs comes as major film studios have eagerly rushed to sign deals with AI firms. The past year alone has seen generative AI effects used in a number of high profile films, ranging from “Alien: Romulus” to “The Brutalist.”
The AI character sparked fierce backlash last week when Van Der Velden claimed that her recently formed AI “talent studio” Xicoia was in talks with agents who were interested in signing it. “We’re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months,” she teased, per Deadline.
An AI puppet being considered an “actress” is controversial in itself. But talking up the AI character as an actual performer that’s getting signed seemed to feel like too tangible a threat to real actors, who fought for landmark AI protections in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike that shut down Hollywood for nearly half a year.
“Not an actress actually,” wrote young TV star Nicholas Alexander Chavez in response to the news. “Nice try.”
“And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her?” asked actress Mara Wilson, best known for her titular role in the 1996 film “Matilda.” “You couldn’t hire any of them?”
Veteran character actor Ralph Ineson summed up the general feeling in a viral tweet.
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