The Hollywood icon died last year and never filmed any of his scenes. As Deep as the Gravebut it will appear on the big screen, thanks to generative AI.
The actor Val Kilmer last year, following a case of pneumonia, but was recreated using it to star, posthumously, in the film As Deep as the Grave.
According to , the decision to “resurrect” the actor with technology had the support of his family. Kilmer had been chosen in 2020 to join the film’s cast, playing a Catholic priest, but was unable to participate in filming due to health complications caused by a throat cancer.
At that time, the London company Sonantic worked with the actor to create an online demonstration of the technology.
With the family’s approval, the director decided to pursue the idea of using generative artificial intelligence to recreate the actor, who did not film any scene in the project.
“His family kept saying how important they thought this film was, and that Val really wanted to make it. He genuinely believed it was an important story and wanted to see his name associated with it. It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, ‘Okay, let’s do it’. Although some people considered it controversial, that’s what Val wanted,” explained Coerte Voorhees.
Controversial topic in Hollywood
The use of artificial intelligence tools in Hollywood is a very controversial topic, especially when they are used to recreate or manipulate images and videos without the presence of real actors.
In the case of Val Kilmer, Variety reports that the technology combines images of the actor as a young man with records of his last years of lifemany of them provided by the family themselves, to recreate their appearance. The audio was also trained to simulate the artist’s voice.
In an industry increasingly concerned about the effects of AI on the sector, decisions like those made by the As Deep as the Grave team are practically doomed to criticism. After all, there is an intense debate in Hollywood on this subject, due to concerns related to the loss of jobs and the use, without consent, of actors’ images in audiovisual productions.
According to Kilmer’s family, the project was developed based on the guidelines of SAG, the Hollywood actors’ union. You heirs were compensated for recreating the actor’s image in the film.
