Neil Calloway wonders whether we’ll see the end of actors…
James Gunn’s assertion that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will set the stage for the next twenty years of MCU films is intriguing, to say the least. It’s hard to imagine the MCU lasting that long, for a start; I doubt Robert Downey Jr. will be playing Iron Man into his 70s, and how many incarnations of Spider-Man will we have had by then? It’s so easy to derail a franchise – just ask George Clooney about Batman – that saying the series will last until 2040 is ambitious to say the least.
Of course, a movie franchise based on a comic book series has an inbuilt excuse if an actor gets bored of the role, or becomes too old; most superheroes have had different civilian alter egos at some point; Captain America doesn’t have to be Steve Rogers, for example, several other characters have assumed that role in the past.
In other film franchise news it was revealed this week that due to scheduling conflicts and re-shoots, Michael K. Williams has been cut from the Han Solo film; it’s an inevitable and unfortunate consequence of sacking your directors halfway through a movie shoot, but it doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to a third film industry news story that surfaced this week.
It was reported that Artificial Intelligence will play an increasing role in film – from okaying or passing on scripts, to cutting finished films, and perhaps the holy grail of CGI – creating realistic, human characters without the need for motion capture. No longer would actors age, or have to go to Africa to shoot a TV show when they should be in London working on a film. With genuine AI; technology that can learn, and grow, actors can be jettisoned forever, doomed to a lifetime of working in restaurants with a chip on their shoulder, and we’ll be free from their self aggrandising spiel in promo interviews about how hard their latest role was. No more actors gushing at awards ceremonies. No more Gwyneth Paltrow and her ridiculous website offering Moon Juice supplements and “energy balancing” stickers.
Of course, you no longer get films that are lifted up from mediocre by a single great performance, but maybe that’s a small price to pay. If it’s an appealing thought for cinema goers, then it’s surely even more attractive for film studios; actors that don’t make ridiculous demands for changes to scripts that ruin the film, don’t ruin their public profile by turning out to be a wife beater, don’t cost a fortune.
I’m tempted by the thought, but ultimately I don’t like it; mainly because I don’t want my meals out served by arrogant out of work waiters any more than is necessary, in the way that a physical book will always be superior to an e book, and practical effects in movies will always be better than CGI, human beings will always be preferable on screen to AI; somehow we’ll just know when we’re seeing the real thing. AI actors is one of those ideas best kept in the “intriguing but no thanks” file.
Neil Calloway is a pub quiz extraordinaire and Top Gun obsessive. Check back here every Sunday for future instalments.
Originally published August 27, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
