A bunch of human actors who are much less appealing than Tilly Norwood, an AI “creation,” are threatening to blacklist any talent agency that represents the adorable Tilly.
This ongoing war against AI in Hollywood is not only hypocritical—it’s futile. Need proof? Watch the video below. It’s from the same people who “created” Tilly Norwood, and “she” is featured near the end:
That video is 100 percent AI. Tilly arrives at the 1:26 mark and “her” appeal and charisma immediately pop off the screen. That’s it. Game over. Nothing else matters, especially in a present-day Hollywood populated with generic actresses who look like they were scooped out of a mall in Santa Monica.
Here’s Tilly’s Instagram page. Here’s “her” 20-second reel. The only thing that strikes me as fake is the fact that “she” is British and has perfect teeth.
So, after word hit that this ageless actress—who will always show up on time, bring no personal dramas to the set, destroy “her” popularity with fake #MeToo accusations, or alienate half “her” fandom with ignorant political musings—might acquire representation through a legitimate talent agency, the threats began…
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room,” threatened someone named Melissa Barrera.
“Out the agents. I want names,” threatened someone named Kiersey Clemons.
“And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” complained Mara Wilson.
Toni Collette posted some screaming emojis.
Hey, you want to know what else Tilly Norwood will never do? Threaten people with McCarthy-ite blacklists.
Sorry, y’all, it’s over. (Correction: I’m not sorry at all.)
Allow me to explain the future to you…
AI will soon become so inexpensive, the major studios will have only two choices: 1) adapt and use it or 2) refuse to adapt and get muscled out of the game by everyday creators creating awesome stuff in their bedrooms.
If the major studios and talent agencies allow themselves to be bullied into becoming the 21st-century equivalent of buggy whip manufacturers, it’s over. Hollywood becomes today’s version of the bottomed-out music industry, with a handful of superstars, a barrel of aging stars, and their former customer base scattered across the internet, where tens of thousands of creatives make a living but no one really gets rich anymore. The music industry has been Balkanized into something that would’ve been inconceivable when I was growing up—when new albums sold a million copies every week, and new artists broke through every month.
To be honest, I’m not sure how Hollywood avoids that fate even by embracing AI. AI is the Great Equalizer. As soon as studio-quality technology was available to everyday musicians with access to distribution online, the music business imploded.
Other than cornering the market on great storytelling by way of great writers, how Hollywood survives as is when everyone can do what they do remains a huge question.
For the price of a computer program and an internet connection, anyone can produce a studio-quality piece of music today and distribute it worldwide.
That’s what’s going to happen with video—meaning movies and TV shows.
Look at publishing. Will movie theaters go the way of bookstores? If movies don’t improve, yes. The garbage Hollywood currently turns out cannot survive technology, removing all the expensive roadblocks that will allow anyone to produce video content.
What’s to stop a Netflix from acquiring Joe Blow’s streaming series—the one he made in his garage for $300 an episode, most of that $300 for Twizzlers and Red Bull?
Why pay $40 to take your date to the Disney Grooming Syndicate’s latest piece of shit Star Wars or Marvel movie when you have a $300 hi-def projector at home and can download the latest sexy thriller starring Tilly Norwood? Isn’t that better than dropping $40 on some sexless, prudish, piece of shit movie starring an actress who hates you?
Some things are difficult to predict in a wild and woolly world populated by the endless complications that come with human nature, but 20 years ago, I predicted movies and TV would move online. I was right. The moment I got a look at Netflix some 15 years ago, I knew streaming was the future. I was right. So trust me on this…
Nothing will stop AI from completely disrupting Hollywood in the same way technology upended the music and publishing business, as well as the fake news media.
Hollywood hates half the country and produces mostly garbage, and AI is only years away from giving everyone who wants it the power to greenlight a movie or TV show.
So, go ahead — cry and blacklist all you want. It won’t change a thing.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
