As AI talent studio Xicoia unveils its first digitally generated “actor” Tilly Norwood to Hollywood, the avatar’s real-life peers have some opinions.
Following Deadline’s report that several talent agencies are interested in signing Norwood, Melissa Barrera, Kiersey Clemons and more actors have suggested a boycott of such agencies after Xicoia founder Eline Van der Velden teased during a Zurich Summit panel that high-profile projects will be utilizing the technology in the near future.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$,” wrote Barrera on her Instagram Story with Deadline’s report. “How gross, read the room.”
Clemons echoed that sentiment in the comments section, writing, “Out the agents. I want names.”
“Not an actress actually,” commented Nicholas Alexander Chavez. “Nice try.”
“Hey @sagaftra any thoughts here?” wrote Jenna Leigh Green, following the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes that partially centered around acceptable AI uses.
Mara Wilson also raised an important point. “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” she wrote.
Despite the dystopian vibes of the innovation that is Tilly, some voiced their disapproval with a bit of levity. “She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” wrote Lukas Gage in a comment. “She couldn’t hit her mark and she was late!”
“She threw coffee in my FACE!!!” wrote Odessa A’zion.
Trace Lysette added in her own comment, “She cut me in line at lunch one day and didn’t even say excuse me. She won’t get far.”
Part of AI production studio Particle6, Deadline exclusively announced Van der Velden’s launch of Xicoia this week at the Zurich Film Festival conference, designed to create, manage and monetize a new generation of hyperreal digital stars.
“We were in a lot of boardrooms around February time, and everyone was like, ‘No, this is nothing. It’s not going to happen,’” said Van der Velden during Saturday’s panel, moderated by Deadline’s Diana Lodderhose. “Then, by May, people were like, ‘We need to do something with you guys.’ 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.”
Xicoia is focused on creating AI talent for use in everything from film and TV productions to podcasts, TikTok, YouTube, brand campaigns and video games – as well as interactions with fans. Operating on a hybrid model of human creative oversight and autonomous AI responsiveness, they’ll come equipped with complete backstories, distinct voices, evolving narrative arcs and fully realized personalities, as well as the ability to engage in unscripted conversations, perform monologues, respond to trends in real time and adapt tone and references to suit platform-specific audiences.
The post Melissa Barrera, Lukas Gage & More React To AI Actress Tilly Norwood As Some Suggest Agency Boycott: “Read The Room” appeared first on Deadline.
