Tom Hanks on immortality in Hollywood: AI and deepfakes unveiling the future of film!

Embracing an auditorium of virtual silhouettes, Hollywood icon Tom Hanks spilled the beans on an intriguing conjecture: the persistence of actors on the silver screen, even post-mortem.

AI: The Elixir of Immortality for Actors

In a recent tête-à-tête on "The Adam Buxton Podcast," Tom Hanks brought AI and deepfakes into the limelight, suggesting they may hold the key to cinematic immortality. This technological marvel will be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival, thanks to 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,' where AI is the secret potion that morphs Harrison Ford back into his youthful self from the 1981 classic 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'

Reflecting on his experiences from 'The Polar Express,' Hanks commented, "We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability to take zeros and ones from inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character." The Oscar winner foresees an age when he can pitch multiple films featuring his 32-year-old self, and this AI-driven longevity isn't bound by the constraints of life and death.

The Artistic and Legal Conundrum

While the opportunities seem tantalizing, Hanks warned, "Outside the understanding of AI and deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone." The omnipresence of an actor's digitized persona opens up not only artistic challenges but legal intricacies as well. The ownership of an actor's face, voice, and other facets of their personality as intellectual property is currently a hotbed of discussion among guilds, agencies, and legal firms.

"But the question is, will they care?" Hanks mused. While some viewers might discern the AI's handiwork, he suggests others might not even distinguish it, much less be bothered by it.

For the new 'Indiana Jones' film, AI was employed to extract stills from Ford's cinematic timeline, blending them into a de-aged visage—an astonishing testament to the future of film technology.

FAQs

What does Tom Hanks mean when he says performances can go on and on due to AI and deep-fake technology?

Hanks is referring to the possibility of using AI and deep-fake technology to digitally recreate actors in their prime, potentially allowing them to 'appear' in films even after their deaths.

What are the legal ramifications Tom Hanks mentions in relation to AI and deep-fake technology?

The legal issues that Hanks brings up revolve around the ownership of an actor's likeness, including their face and voice. These characteristics could potentially be considered intellectual property, opening up legal considerations about who has the right to use them, particularly in the context of posthumous appearances or digital recreations in film.