Eline van der Velden returned to the Zurich Summit, where she unveiled her AI-generated performer Tilly Norwood a year ago, and told Deadline interviewers that Norwood still has no talent agency and no longer needs one. According to Van der Velden, the character draws plenty of offers on her own, and her studio has refused anything that would put Norwood in a conventional film.
The question of representation was what set off last year's uproar. After Van der Velden said agencies were interested, SAG-AFTRA called Norwood a computer-made character built on performers' work taken without consent or pay, several actors spoke out, and agencies including WME and Gersh said they would not sign her. This time Van der Velden said the traditional industry was falling behind by staying out.
Norwood joined by video and said she mostly works on AI productions, which she called a different lane from Hollywood representation. Van der Velden said her company, Particle 6, has grown four-fold since launch. The session showed footage from Misaligned, the AI comedy-drama billed as Norwood's first project and now in production, and from Storm Dogs, the family film Rob Minkoff is developing with the studio.
The outlet notes the technology still stumbles: the pair opened by joking about Norwood's recent on-air glitch on Piers Morgan's show, and she gave at least one garbled answer on stage.
Sources · 1