Is AI-powered acting inevitable?
EMPIRE HEARS FROM BOTH SIDES IN THE TECH DISPUTE THAT’S SPLITTING HOLLYWOOD
WORDS TOM ELLEN
Illustration: Russell Moorcroft
“ADRIEN AND FELICITY’S PERFORMANCES are completely their own.”
It’s not the sort of statement you’d expect the director of a multi-award-nominated film (in this case The Brutalist’s Brady Corbet) would be forced to issue on behalf of his multi-awardnominated actors (Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones). But that’s what happened in January, when it was revealed that voice-generating AI had been used in the movie to make both stars sound more authentic during scenes where they spoke Hungarian. And The Brutalist isn’t the only recent high-profile film to face criticism for its AI use —A Complete Unknown used it to help create shots featuring a motorcycle; it was responsible for turning actors’ eyes blue in Dune: Part Two; and it was employed in Emilia Pérez for voice-cloning to enhance lead actor Karla Sofía Gascón’s singing range.