The headline seemingly announced the emergence of a new hot talent on the scene:
“Talent Agents Circle AI Actress Tilly Norwood As Studios Quietly Embrace AI Technology,” Deadline reported.
But real actors and directors were quick to point out this was no “actress” at all.
Norwood is the creation of AI “talent” studio Xicoia, headed up by Eline Van Der Velden from the Particle6 AI production studio.
Deadline reported that Van Der Velden said at the recent Zurich Summit that the studio was talking to talent agents who had expressed interest in signing Norwood.
“When we first launched Tilly, people were like, ‘What’s that?’, and now we’re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months,” Van Der Velden said.
Real Hollywood talents have been speaking out about the development.
“Shame on these people,” actor Mara Wilson (“Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Matilda”) said on Instagram. “They have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI ‘actress.’ They’re not creators. They’re identity thieves.”
“What about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her?” she said. “You couldn’t hire any of them?”
Director Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “The Rhythm Section”) also sounded off on the AI “actor” news.
“I guess if you can’t make it as an actor yourself…and you’re incredibly lazy, you can cheat your way in!” she said, addressing Van Der Velden, who is also an actor. “Let me remind you @ElineHQ acting is the craft that celebrates humanity and all aspects of what that means.
“An AI actor has no life experience and no amount of clever prompts can replicate the effect of true humanity and soul. Thank you for your hollow & empty gift to feed the greedy and for reminding us there’s no floor to how low desperate people will go for money and headlines. Studios don’t buy into this snake oil, you will lose your audience.”
Another director, Joe Carnahan (“The Narc,” “The A-Team,” “The Grey”), said he hopes ”Tilly’s career TANKS.”
“She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” said actor Lukas Gage (“You,” “The White Lotus,” “Companion”). “She couldn’t hit her mark and she was late!”
Van Der Velden responded to criticism via Tilly’s Instagram account, which is filled with videos and photos of the “actor,” including reels from would-be AI films. The AI creation glows about filming “screen tests” in the captions.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of our AI character, Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art,” Van Der Velden said. “Like many art forms before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush,” she said. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting. AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”
Oscar-nominated actor Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “Zombieland”) made an appeal to fellow actors.
“I beg every actor I know to plz boycott this,” she said, sharing the Deadline story.
“If your agency is trying to sign an AI actor, you should leave them. It’s such a f— you to the entire craft. Also… not for nothing but it’s a ‘female AI actress’ so basically just another way for men to control and narrate the female experience. This is f—ed. #cancelTillyNorwood.”
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