Lisa Kudrow takes a dig on Tom Hanks’ ‘Here’ for endorsing AI for de-aging characters

Lisa Kudrow is adamantly opposed to artificial intelligence being used in movies!

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AI was utilized to play the younger versions of the actors in Robert Zemeckis’s most recent ten-year feature, Here, which brought him back together with his Forrest Gump co-stars Robin Wright and Tom Hanks. Lisa Kudrow, Friends actress criticized the movie’s support of artificial intelligence during her recent appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast.

“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,” she said, elucidating the essence of the film. “All I got from that was, this is an endorsement for AI,” Kudrow added.

She explained that she was more worried about the future performers who will be left to handle “licensing and recycling” than she was about AI “ruining” the movie.

She also underlined how the ongoing use of technology in filmmaking may endanger humankind. “Set that completely aside, what work will there be for human beings? Then what?” she added.

“There’ll be some kind of living stipend for people, you won’t have to work? How can it possibly be enough?” Kudrow stated.

It might, however, get praise for its visual effects. The movie is one of 20 movies competing for the top 10 positions on the Oscars shortlist for best visual effects, Variety reported earlier this month. It’s also one of three movies that featured artificial intelligence (AI)-powered de-aging or artificial human effects.

For their use of de-aging to make Harrison Ford look younger, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny had already made it to the Oscar shortlist. When Hanks made an appearance on the Adam Buxton Podcast in 2023, his startling opinion on the application of artificial intelligence garnered media attention.

The Oscar winner asserted that deepfakes and AI techniques allowed him to continue performing even after he passed away. Hanks said, “Performances can go on and on and on, but I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it.”

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