Lights, Camera, Algorithm
AI is quickly becoming Hollywood’s favourite and most divisive co-star.
From A24’s controversial DeepMind partnership to studios experimenting with AI production tools, artificial intelligence is no longer an innocent actress looking for fame and fortune in LA; it’s made it through the casting calls and screen tests.
Just when it seemed Hollywood’s AI debate couldn’t get any messier, its most controversial digital performer has landed the lead role in a feature film.
AI-generated ‘actress’ Tilly Norwood is set to star in her first-ever feature film, Misaligned, a ‘coming-of-age comedy-drama infused with existential AI chaos’ from a London-based studio, Particle6.
According to the company, the film will be a “hybrid production, with traditional film and TV professionals working alongside AI specialists, with AI training and mentorship built into the production itself.”
For greater emphasis, Norwood isn’t a human performer using AI effects. She’s a completely AI-generated character designed to exist as an actor in her own right, and this new film marks the first moment in history that an AI takes the lead role in a feature film.
The announcement marks the biggest milestone yet for the virtual performer, whose arrival last year was met with fierce criticism from actors, filmmakers and unions, who argued that she represents a worrying step forward for Hollywood.
One of the biggest critics of the AI actress was SAG-AFTRA, which argued that the AI creation was born from stealing the performances of “human artistry.”
“It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion, and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.”
Particle6’s main writer, Eline Van der Velden, has argued that AI should work alongside writers, directors and editors, not replace them. She also said the film is intended to explore “identity, performance, and our very human fears around AI. And yes, art will most definitely be imitating life.”
Whether Misaligned becomes a genuine breakthrough or another bizarre gimmick in Hollywood’s dive into AI, Tilly Norwood has already achieved something many thought impossible: AI is sharing the silver screen.
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