SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Last month the announcement from the creator of an artificial intelligence character billed as an AI “actress” was being scouted by talent agents erupted into online backlash. The character, Tilly Norwood, was the creation of Eline Van der Velden and the AI production company, Particle 6.
The Norwood character, an understatedly pretty, girl-next-door type beauty, was going to be next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, her creators boasted.
News that talent agents were considering signing the character drew widespread condemnation from the industry.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that [signs Tilly Norwood] drop their a$$. How gross, read the room,” posted “Scream” star, Melissa Barrera. Toni Collette simply posted a string of screaming emojis in reaction to the news.
“She was a nightmare to work with!!!” joked “White Lotus” star Lukas Gage.
“No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed,” said A-lister Emily Blunt in an interview with Variety. “Come on, agencies, don’t do that.”
Just a ‘hype-building stunt?’
But were the people behind Tilly Norwood ever really serious about making her the next Scarlett Johannson? Possibly not, according to a report in Variety this week.
“I don’t think that everyone understands that this probably is a hype-building stunt. And B), it’s not going to threaten their livelihood the way the think it does,” Tricia Biggio, CEO of AI animation studio Invisible Universe said, speaking to Variety.
“Tilly Norwood is not coming for anyone’s job anytime soon in a Hollywood movie,” said Bryan Mooser, founder of AI film studio Asteria.
“The reaction to it is the story,” he added.
While Tilly Norwood is unlikely to poach roles from Hollywood A-listers any time soon, she did succeed in bringing international recognition to Van der Velden and Particle 6. As Mooser suggests, that might be the point.
What is ‘rage bait’ marketing?
The AI industry, which is largely centered in San Francisco, has been quick to embrace “rage bait” marketing. The tactic, according to AdWeek, is “internet shorthand for content made to provoke and monetize fury.”
Recently, it’s dominated headlines around the ad industry, most notably, in the backlash to American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign, which was slammed as pro-eugenics. Locally, the tactic was leveraged to considerable effect by AI startup, Artisan, which leveraged rage baiting in its “Stop Hiring Humans” billboard campaign around SF.
Not long after KRON4 reported on that campaign, the company announced a $25 million Series A, led by Glade Brook Capital.
Cluely, another SF AI startup, announced it wanted its users to use “invisible AI to cheat on everything.” That company went on to raise a $15 million Series A backed by Andreessen Horowitz.
Van der Velden, Tilly Norwood’s creator, responded to the initial backlash by saying that the AI was “not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work.” While Norwood may not wind up co-starring with Brad Pitt or Leonardo Di Caprio, one could say it’s already mission accomplished when it comes to putting Van der Velden and Particle 6’s new AI talent studio, Xicoia on the map.
With top talent agencies like Creative Artists Agency and United Talent Agency reportedly sounding the alarm on OpenAI’s new Sora 2 video-generating app, the news that Tilly Norwood isn’t really coming for anyone’s job may bring comfort to some.
As Variety reports, major film studios are currently interested in using AI to “enhance visual effects and speed up preproduction, they are not in a rush to cast AI talent.”
SAG-AFTRA contract rules dictate the studios are required to notify the union if they plan to cast synthetic characters. According to Variety, none have — at least, not yet.
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