Hollywood vs Tilly Norwood

California has just passed two new laws, AB 1836 and AB 2602, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, to protect actors from unauthorized AI-generated replicas of their voices and likenesses. The legislation, prompted by concerns raised during the Hollywood strikes, requires explicit consent and legal representation before a performer’s digital image can be used, and mandates family or estate approval for recreations of deceased artists. By closing loopholes that allowed unapproved digital cloning, California is setting a strong precedent for safeguarding creative rights in the age of artificial intelligence (THR).

Hollywood Outraged

An "AI actor" named Tilly Norwood has been causing a stir after its Dutch creators said the synthetic performer is in talks with talent agencies. Fed by thousands of actors, scenes, roles, lines and expressions from every actor who came before "her", Norwood could be mistaken for a young, aspiring actress when one glances at its social media. The brunette poses for photos and showcases a fully AI-generated comedy sketch, where it is described as having "girl next door vibes."

"I may be AI, but I'm feeling very real emotions right now," Tilly's creators wrote on "her" page. However, Hollywood is not rolling out the red carpet. Its powerful actors union has condemned the creation, along with A-list stars like Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne and Whoopi Goldberg (BBC).

Johansson meets Portman

“We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman,”  said physicist-turned-producer Eline van der Velden, Tilly’s creator. The virtual robot was designed to embody the ideal movie star — endlessly adaptable, tireless, and free from controversy (VICE).

The digital “actress” marks the debut creation of Particle 6 Productions, a UK-based studio merging filmmaking with artificial intelligence. Van der Velden justified "her" creation saying that the project reflects a growing belief that creativity no longer needs to be limited by budget constraints.

2001: An AI Odyssey

Hollywood trying to replace actors is not new at all. Back in 2001 Aki Ross was the first photorealistic computer-generated actress to be a protagonist as the fictional character from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The film reigned for almost a decade in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive video game movie ever. It also set records as one of the biggest box-office bombs in history (Esquire).

The Way of an Avatar

Created in 2016, Lil Miquela became one of the first virtual influencers to gain mainstream recognition. Its appeal lay in looking unmistakably digital (more avatar than human) which made its presence feel futuristic rather than deceptive. By 2018, Time magazine named it one of the “25 Most Influential People on the Internet,” and in 2020 it signed with CAA after previously being represented by WME. At its peak, it reached 2.3 million Instagram followers. In contrast, Tilly, who emerged under the stricter post–SAG-AFTRA strike regulations, currently has only about 60,000 followers (Variety).

Act of Re-imagination

“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship,” Van der Velden wrote on Instagram in response to the furor. In Hollywood, Tilly has reignited anxieties about AI not felt since the 2023 strikes, as rapid advances in video models like the newly released Sora 2 fuel growing unease. Over the past two years, dozens of “AI studios” have emerged, with small teams racing to create the first major hit generated entirely by artificial intelligence (Variety).

Keeping it Real

At Malin Entertainment, we remain committed to celebrating human talent and creativity above all. We view technology as a powerful tool that can lighten the heavy workload humanity creates for itself, but we believe it’s essential to keep reality and imagination distinct — so that innovation continues to serve, not replace, the human spirit at the heart of our mission.

Best,

Laura