By Grace Cyril,News18,Sahas Mahapatra
Copyright news18
An AI production house, Particle 6, has sparked debate in the entertainment world with the launch of a fully AI-generated actress named Tilly Norwood. The digital star’s debut has raised concerns about the future of real actors. While promoting her film The Smashing Machine, Hollywood actress Emily Blunt called the creation “terrifying” and urged agencies not to sign AI performers, stressing the importance of preserving human connection.
Meanwhile, Eline Van Der Velden, founder and CEO of the AI studio, revealed that Tilly Norwood is already receiving offers from top talent agencies. When asked whether the news left her disappointed, Emily Blunt said her only response for now was to call it “scary”.
Emily Blunt Isn’t thrilled About Virtual Actress’ launch
During the promotion tour, when Emily Blunt was shown the image of Tilly Norwood, she told Variety, “Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is. Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection. They want her to be the next Scarlett Johansson. But we have Scarlett Johansson.”
Not only Emily Blunt, but several other Hollywood artists also reacted negatively to the launch of Tilly Norwood. Still, Eline Van Der Velden, who introduced the AI actress at the Zurich Film Festival’s Zurich Summit Conference, defended her creation. In an Instagram post, she described Norwood as “a new tool, a new paintbrush” and called Tilly a piece of art.
Tilly Norwood Represents ‘Experimentation, Not Substitution’
She wrote, “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of our Al character, Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work, a piece of many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation and that in itself shows the power of creativity. I see Al not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, Al offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself and nothing, certainly not an Al character, can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”
“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill and iteration to bring such a character to life. She represents experimentation, not substitution. Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different. I also believe Al characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors. Each form of art has its place and each can be valued for what it uniquely bring,” Van Der Velden added.
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Emily Blunt stars opposite Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine, playing Dawn Staples, the partner of MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Directed by Benny Safdie, the film premiered at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.
