NORWOOD, NOR HUMAN

So fresh, so captivating, so inhuman.

Tilly Norwood is living the dream of every young actor. After appearing in only one
comedy short at the Zurich Film Festival, she's already being courted by talent agencies. Considered by some to be the next Scarlett Johansson, Norwood has what it takes is to make it in show business: good looks, charm, and that mysterious "it" factor.

Watch out, ladies, Tilly is coming after your job.

And by "it", I mean "it.", for Tilly Norwood is an A.I. creation. And being made of data, she'll never be accused of a wooden performance. Nor will she ever undergo plastic surgery, because data isn't plastic. The closest thing Tilly will have to a nip & tuck is a software update. 

No wonder why actresses are up in arms about their newest rival. Tilly will never have to go through what they did to get to the top -- acting classes, auditions, being groped by Harvey Weinstein. Bitch!

SAG-AFTRA is getting into the act as well, and not because Tilly won't have to pay union dues. Their official statement reads, "It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion" -- which is pretty funny considering you can say that about nepo babies Emma Roberts, Hayes Costner and about half the other young actors around today.

Jared Leto or software? You tell me.

The statement continues, "From what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in
watching computer-generated content untethered from human experience." 

Aw, hell naw! The most popular movies today are devoid of anything within shouting distance of the human experience. Watch any movie based on comic books or with Fast and Furious in its title. Every action movie made in the last 20 years is about as human as a box of bathroom tiles. My wife and I recently saw a promo for Tron: Ares where everything on screen except the faces of the two actors came from a computer. And their names weren't mentioned. You could put anyone in most of these movies and they'd play the same and make the same bank. 

Those five software extras in the second row
probably saved Disney three thousand bucks.
Every penny counts!

At least Tilly Underwood looks human. Not long ago, people watching the made-for-Disney+ movie Prom Pact were startled to see an entire row of A.I. background "actors" during a basketball game scene. And it was obvious despite lasting all of two seconds. I don't recall SAG-AFTRA sending out a press release condemning them. Maybe it helped they were racially diverse A.I. figures. (Is there such a thing as D.E.I A.I.?)

It would be interesting to hear what Tilly Norwood herself has to say regarding the controversy. Unfortunately, we have to rely on her creator, Eline Van der Velden, to speak on her behalf. "She is not a replacement for a human being but a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity."

Not a replacement for a human being? Tell that to the accountants at the studios. 

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