Thanks to a fusillade of PR gibberish, major media outlets will spend the coming months pretending that so-called “AI actress” Tilly Norwood is a real phenomenon, not an exhausting stunt that will flame out after no one wants to watch a rom-com starring a dead-eyed automaton. And while the production company beyond Norwood is trying to present its creation as cutting-edge, it's actually a quarter-century behind the times.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within hit theaters 25 years ago today, and one of its supposed selling points was the presence of Aki Ross, a digital golden child destined to conquer Hollywood. Voiced by Ming-Na Wen, Ross’ starring role in Spirits Within was meant to be the first of many movie appearances. Publications like Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times dutifully went along with portraying the rise of Ross and her contemporary “synthespians” as inevitable, the latter even semi-seriously suggesting that Princess Fiona was so lifelike she could co-host The View. Long before AI vowed to disrupt Hollywood, reports warned that “Movie Stars Fear Inroads By Upstart Digital Actors.” Somehow, Tom Hanks’ career survived.
