Could a badly named, synthetic starlet really be coming to a theater near you?

Tilly Norwood hopes so. No, that’s not the name of a Hollywood executive or an indie director. It’s an AI-generated avatar that its creator wants to put on the big screen.

Norwood isn’t exactly megawatt-star material. Her image is notably unstriking. The doe-eyed, 20-something-looking brunette with a warm, somewhat freckled complexion doesn’t look much different from your average photogenic influencer. Her Instagram page is similarly bland, devoid of any personality traits or interests outside drinking iced coffee and walking around London. Her bio, however, has a startling, bleak message, “You’ll either get it, or pretend you don’t.”

Nevertheless, the arrival of Tilly Norwood has Hollywood mad, talent agencies are shying away from taking on an avatar as a client, and for now, Norwood seems like more of a stunt than a real threat.

Last week, Eline Van der Velden, CEO and founder of UK-based AI production company Particle6, announced the formation of a new AI talent studio called Xicoia at the Zurich Film Festival. The new venture will focus on creating “hyperreal digital stars” for films, television shows, TikToks, podcasts, ad campaigns, video games, while also playing the other roles of an influencer and interacting with fans. The launch highlighted Norwood, its first client creation, which made her first appearance in Particle6’s portfolio back in July.

A post shared by Tilly Norwood (@tillynorwood)

According to Van der Velden, a former actor, the digitally rendered........

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