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Fans criticize ‘Alien: Romulus’ for bringing Ian Holm back to life with AI

British actor Ian Holm died in 2020, but his likeness appears in “Alien: Romulus,” thanks in part to generative artificial intelligence. Fans aren’t happy about it – even though his family has given their blessing.

The 2024 film follows a crew of miners who break into an abandoned space station to steal supplies to help them flee their bleak mining colony for a peaceful planet.

When they enter, they discover that the company that owns the station, Weyland-Yutani, has been experimenting with the monstrous Xenomorphs, and they are forced to fight for survival.

Along the way, scavenger Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her adopted android brother Andy (David Jonsson) discover a half-molten robot named Rook (Holm). The robot is a nod to Holm’s character from the original “Alien” movie, Ash, who is programmed to do what’s best for the company rather than the crew. His 2024 counterpart, Rook, serves the same purpose.

Holms could have appeared in one scene, but appears in several scenes as a secondary antagonist. Some fans criticized the way Holm’s appearance was executed, while others pointed out that she could not give permission for her likeness to be used, arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent.

However, his family gave permission for Holm, who is also known for his role as Bilbo Baggins in the “Lord of the Rings” franchise, to appear in “Alien: Romulus.”

Referring to Holm’s widow, Sophie de Stempel, director Fede Álvarez told The Los Angeles Times in an interview published Monday: “In the last 10 years after ‘The Hobbit,’ Ian Holm felt that Hollywood had turned its back on him. to him and his widow. he felt he would have liked to be a part of it. He especially loved this character.

Álvarez said: “We did everything with great respect and always with the authorization of his family, his children and his widow, who said: ‘We would like to see his likeness again.’

The director confirmed that “80 to 90%” of the shots were made using animatronics supplemented with CGI and generative AI to make another actor’s voice sound like Holm.

Álvarez continued: “We don’t bring someone back to life and say, ‘Ian would have done this.’ Obviously, he would have done it differently. We had an actor who was on set, who worked on the dialogue, who worked with the actors.

Artificial intelligence has become a hot topic in Hollywood over the past few years due to concerns that it will put creators out of work, which was a major concern of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA union strikes.

Some, like Scarlett Johansson, have taken a firm stand against how AI can be used to co-opt a person’s voice or likeness. The “Avengers” star stepped in in May 2024 when OpenAI revealed a voice that sounded similar to her after she refused to voice one of the company’s programs.

But Álvarez doesn’t think AI will be used to replace actors in the future, largely because it’s more expensive than hiring an actor.

“Doing this requires a team of so many people and so many parts to do that it’s never really going to be convenient.”

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