Overview
- O’Leary said A24’s period film used up to 150 human extras per scene and argued AI stand-ins would cut costs so “more movies could be made.”
- He called extras a defensible use case for AI “for the sake of the art,” claiming audiences “can’t tell the difference.”
- Invoking Xicoia’s AI creation Tilly Norwood, whom he repeatedly misnamed, he described her as “100% AI” and able to “work 24 hours a day.”
- SAG-AFTRA’s September statement denounced such synthetic performers as jeopardizing livelihoods and devaluing human artistry after agents reportedly showed interest in Norwood.
- O’Leary also said an “AI Kevin” model was trained in Abu Dhabi and claimed a forthcoming version will be indistinguishable from him, comments resurfaced in coverage of his Oct. 16 podcast interview ahead of the film’s Dec. 25 release.