As artificial intelligence (AI) raises concerns in Hollywood, Tom Hanks embraces its potential in his latest film, Here. This groundbreaking technology allowed him to be “de-aged” in real time, exploring the complexities of a couple's journey through time
The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is raising concerns in Hollywood, but it hasn’t dampened Tom Hanks' enthusiasm, as he expressed his amazement at this “amazing” technology. In his latest film, Here: The Best Years of Our Lives, he experienced the effects of AI that allowed him to be “de-aged” in “real-time.”
Opportunities and Concerns
Alongside Robin Wright, Hanks explores the intimacy of a couple over the decades, revealing their joys, sorrows, and doubts. Thanks to a collaboration with the studio Metaphysic, the filmmakers developed a tool called Metaphysic Live, which allows actors to be aged or “de-aged” on demand. “The thing that is amazing about it is it happened in real time,” Hanks shares. At 68, he was able to instantly see the result of his performance on two monitors: one showing the live feed and the other, slightly delayed, displaying a modified version of his face.
However, “deep fake” technologies raise concerns, especially in the current context of the U.S. presidential campaign, where their use could facilitate misinformation. Worries are particularly heightened in Hollywood, where last year actors and writers went on strike to defend their rights against these technological advances. “A lot of people are worried,” Hanks acknowledged at the AFI Fest. For Here, director Robert Zemeckis used an innovative approach: the AI “took 8 million images of us from the web,” allowing it to recreate faces over time, relying on photos from films and personal life moments.
Challenges of AI
The film also stands out for its direction. Shot entirely with a fixed camera, it predominantly takes place in a corner of a suburban living room while playing with temporal ellipses. These narrative back-and-forths explore not only the couple's life but even reach back to distant eras, including the age of dinosaurs. “It had to be true to the style of the book, and that's why it looks the way it does,” Zemeckis explains, referring to Richard McGuire's graphic novel.
At the AFI Fest, another film, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, also highlights the stakes of AI by presenting a smart gnome, which becomes a source of conflict between the beloved animated characters. AI becomes “the wedge between Wallace and Gromit,” co-director Merlin Crossingham explains. Despite the humor of this work, the underlying message is serious: if “we can trigger some more intellectual conversation from our silly adventure with Wallace and Gromit, then that can't be a bad thing.”
However, Crossingham refuses to integrate AI into this iconic franchise. “We don’t do it, and we we can trigger some more intellectual conversation from our silly adventure with Wallace and Gromit, then that can't be a bad thing,” he asserted, eliciting applause. Vengeance Most Fowl will be available on Netflix starting January 3, promising to blend lightness with reflection on contemporary issues.
With AFP
Comments