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Lisa Kudrow recently appeared on the “Armchair Expert” podcast and criticized Robert Zemeckis’ latest directorial effort, “Here.” The movie, which notably reunited Zemeckis with his “Forrest Gump” stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, was released by Sony Pictures in November but flopped at the box office with $13 million worldwide. Kudrow took issue with the film being an “endorsement for AI” due to its de-aging technology which allowed Hanks and Wright to appear decades younger in some scenes.
“They shot it, and they could actually shoot the scene and then look at the playback of them as younger, and it’s ready for them to see,” Kudrow said. “All I got from that was, this is an endorsement for AI. It’s not like, ‘Oh it’s going to ruin everything,’ but what will be left? Forget actors, what about up-and-coming actors? They’ll just be licensing and recycling.”
“Set that completely aside, what work will there be for human beings? Then what?” the “Friends” star continued. “There’ll be some kind of living stipend for people, you won’t have to work? How can it possibly be enough?”
Popular on Variety As reported by Variety earlier this month, “Here” is currently one of the 20 movies vying for one of 10 spots on the Oscars shortlist for best visual effects. It’s one of a trio movies movies that used de-aging/synthetic human effects with the assistance of AI-driven tools. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” previously made the Oscars shortlist while having machine-learning technology as part of its process for de-aging Harrison Ford.
“Here” star Tom Hanks made headlines in May 2023 for discussing how AI would soon make it possible for him to continue acting long after his death.
“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology. I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but performances can go on and on and on and on,” Hanks said at the time. “Outside the understanding of AI and deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone. And it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality. That’s certainly an artistic challenge but it’s also a legal one.”
The Oscar winner said that “all of the guilds, all of the agencies and all of the legal firms” are currently in discussion on “the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property.”
Hanks added, “Without a doubt people will be able to tell [that it’s AI], but the question is will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation.”
