It takes a lot of effort to be the most polarising figure in Hollywood, especially with Mel Gibson still alive. But in a career that hasn’t even started, Tilly Norwood has been inundated with mockery.
This is primarily because Tilly Norwood does not exist. Norwood is actually the creation of an AI talent agency called Xicoia, despite the fact that it looks like a remarkable cross between Vanessa Hudgens from the High School Musical, Ana de Armas, and Gal Gadot. If Xicoia is to be believed, Norwood represents the film industry’s promising future.
Hailed as the next Scarlett Johansson, Norwood was introduced this past weekend at the Zurich film festival. Companies are reportedly keen to work with her, and a talent agency has reportedly lined up to represent her. It should be mentioned, of course, that her mere presence is enough to make you feel uncontrollably afraid for the future of humanity, but that’s Hollywood for you.
So far, the backlash against Norwood has been directed at actors, whose jobs she is expected to replace. On Instagram stories, Melissa Barrera of Scream and Mara Wilson of Matilda brought attention to the problem of “hundreds of real young women whose faces were merged to create her.” and “I hope all actors rapped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$.” You couldn’t use any of them?
It’s remarkable that throughout his acting career, Norwood has only made one appearance in the AI-generated comedy sketch, AI Commissioner.”I might be AI generated, but I am experiencing very real emotions right now,” Norwood wrote on her Facebook profile on the day of its release. “I’m eager to see what happens next!”
However, you may react differently to the sketch. Technically speaking, it is amazing to see multiple people who almost look human move around on screen, but it is also annoying, unnerving, and—most damning of all—completely unfunny to watch. It’s one thing to see someone with perfect teeth constantly blending into a single white block in their mouth, but it’s another to see them used to deliver stilted, poorly constructed language.The fact that AI Commissioner has only gotten about 200,000 views in the two months since it was released is also significant. This makes it, to use another video that was released around the same time, 14 times less successful than Macaulay Culkin’s Hot Ones episode (2.8 million views).
However, the threat is real. There are countless others outside of the entertainment industry who lack the resources (or, some would argue, the creativity) to succeed, despite the fact that Norwood and her kind are seen as a poor substitute by many. This is where AI actors, authors, and filmmakers come in. To put it another way, she is likely to stay, even if it means that the market will soon be completely overrun with trash.
Furthermore, some Hollywood insiders view Norwood as the epitome of what an actor should be. Think of a piece of art that is completely dependent on the preferences of the directors and producers. No arrogance. Not unique.No demands for a large pay cheque or worries about ageing. If Norwood had been the lead in The Wizard of Oz, Louis B. Mayer wouldn’t have had to put Judy Garland on a diet of black coffee, chicken soup, weight loss pills, and cigarettes. Isn’t that the dream?
The fact that viewers have the ability to determine whether AI is adopted as a standard in filmmaking offers some comfort. Like everything in Hollywood, Norwood’s career will be largely determined by her financial situation. If society decides to spend money to be unsettled by a beautiful woman who can’t decide how many teeth she should have at any given time, artificial intelligence will be around for years to come.But ten and a half years ago, when Avatar came out, we said that 3D would be the future of films. It is easy to imagine the same thing happening here, since it took three bad films to stop that trend.
On the plus side, we already know who will succeed Scarlett Johansson. If Hollywood is willing to bet on this, I would also like to introduce it to Mr. Bonkybum, a cheerful face I recently drew on a sock. He is the next Tom Hanks and is looking for a big-money deal.
