AI Actress Causing Controversy In Hollywood
Not only do actresses have to compete against each other for roles in movies and TV, but now computers??
Dutch technologist Eline van der Velden introduced AI actress Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Film Festival as part of her new AI talent studio Xicoia. And they are going all in, saying in July: “We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, that’s the aim of what we’re doing.” She also explained on LinkedIn that “Budgets are shrinking. Content demand is rising. Audiences? They care about the story — not whether the star has a pulse.”
Obviously, that’s going to ruffle some feathers in Hollywood with immediate backlash from real-life actors. Melissa Barrera wrote: “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$.” Mara Wilson questioned: “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her?”
van der Velden has responded to the outcry on Tilly’s Instagram, equating her to “artwork” and “not a replacement of people, but as a new tool.”
Nonetheless, there are some Hollywood agents who are considering repping the AI creation. What do YOU think? Do you care if the actors are real or not in movies and TV shows?