Entertainment
AI-generated actor sparks outrage in Hollywood, as creator seeks representation
Like thousands of actors, Tilly Norwood is looking for a Hollywood agent. Her greatest role? Pretending to be human.
That’s because Tilly Norwood is a 100% AI-generated product, created by Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden, founder of a company named Xicoia, which bills itself as the world’s first artificial intelligence talent studio. Velden pitches her AI creation as the next Scarlet Johansen, and says there are several agents vying to represent it, CBS News’ Jo Ling Kent reported recently.
Since Velden launched the digital character’s prospective career, Tilly Norwood has been all the talk in Hollywood.
But not in a good way. Guilds, actors and filmmakers have met the Xicoia product with an immediate wave of backlash, protesting that artificial intelligence should not have a starring role in the acting profession. In a statement Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild said that “creativity is, and should remain, human-centered.”
“To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation,” the guild said. “It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.”
Actor Sean Aston, who starred in “Lord of the Rings” and “The Goonies,” and was recently elected president of sag AFTRA, emphasized how AI Tilly Norwood is an artificial construct.
“You’re made up of stuff that doesn’t belong to you,” he told CBS News. “Let’s just make sure that credit is given where credit is due.”
Van der Velden, who is also the founder of the AI production studio Particle6, promoted Tilly Norwood last month at the Zurich Summit, the industry sidebar of the Zurich Film Festival. It was there that she said talent agencies were circling Norwood and that she expected to soon announce a signing.
Many in Hollywood hope that never happens.
“Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds,” wrote Natasha Lyonne on Instagram. The “Russian Doll” star is directing a feature titled “Uncanny Valley” that pledges to use “ethical” artificial intelligence in combination with traditional filmmaking techniques. “Deeply misguided & totally disturbed,” she added. “Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
Artificial intelligence is often used as a tool in film production, though its implementation is hotly debated. It was a major bargaining point in the lengthy strike by SAG-AFTRA that concluded in late 2023 with some safeguards put in place to protect the use of actors’ likenesses and performances by AI. A yearlong strike by video game actors hinged on AI protections. In July, video game actors approved a new contract that mandates employers obtain written permission to create a digital replica.
But there have been numerous controversies over the use of AI in acting. The Oscar-winning 2024 film “The Brutalist” used artificial intelligence for Hungarian dialogue spoken by Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’ characters, the revelation of which prompted debate in the industry.
Van der Velden responded to the stir around Tilly Norwood on Instagram.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Van der Velden said on Sunday. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
Van der Velden didn’t respond to interview requests Tuesday. In her post, she argued that AI characters should be judged as their own genre.
“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance,” she added. “It takes time, skill and iteration to bring such a character to life.”
That statement was also shared on Tilly Norwood’s own Instagram account. Posts include photos of the creation drinking coffee, shopping for clothes and preparing for various projects. As of Tuesday, the account had more than 33,000 followers.
“Had such a blast filming some screen tests recently,” one post reads. “Every day feels like a step closer to the big screen.”
Asked what human actors bring to a performance that AI can’t, Aston, SAG-AFTRA’s Aston said “authenticity,” adding, “You can fall in love. Your parents can die. You can you can be in some terrifying situation. The sum of all of our emotional experiences in our life, artificial intelligence can approximate it — it is not real.”
Boston Marathon Monday morning is buzzing with the sunrise at Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
It’s a day of celebration, road closures, and a dazzling race as it hits the milestone of 130 years.
From weather forecast to start time, schedule, and route map, we have got you covered.
The 2026 Boston Marathon is expected to draw over 30,000 athletes from almost 130 countries, with entrants from all 50 states of America, per Boston Athletic Association.
The Boston Marathon is a hard nut to crack, and it just keeps getting tougher with each passing year.
According to the BMA, “This year’s cut-off time needed to gain acceptance into the Boston Marathon was four minutes, thirty-four seconds or faster (4:34) than the qualifying time for each respective age group and gender.”
Where does the Boston Marathon go?
The Boston Marathon kicks off on Main Street in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Athletes will then follow Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley to where Route 135 turns toward Route 16.
The course follows along Route 16 until the fire station at Commonwealth Avenue, a point where runners will take a turn on the right and begin the stretch of Newton Hills.
After Heartbreak Hill from mile 20 to 21, runners will head across the Chestnut Hill Reservoir before turning left onto Beacon Street
From there, runners will have approximately four miles to the finish line.
They will continue through Brookline, Kenmore Square, and under Massachusetts Avenue.
Finally, the iconic turns await at the finish: right onto Hereford Street and left onto Boylston Street for the final sprint.
The Marathon finish line is set near the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.
What time does the Boston Marathon start today?
The 130th edition of the Boston Marathon will kick off the first race for Men’s Wheelchair at 9:06 a.m. ET, with the following start times for athletes competing in the day’s races as listed by the association.
Women’s Wheelchair at 9:09 a.m. ET
Handcycle & Duo Participants at 9:30 a.m. ET
Professional Men at 9:37 a.m. ET
Professional Women at 9:47 a.m. ET
Para Athletics Divisions at 9:50 a.m. ET
Wave 1 at 10 a.m. ET
Wave 2 at 10:25 a.m. ET
Wave 3 at 10:50 a.m. ET
Wave 4 at 11:15 a.m. ET
Boston Marathon 2026 will be covered live by ABC for all Boston-area viewers, with broadcast starting at 4 a.m. this morning, Monday, April 20, 2026.
Louisiana community is mourning the loss of 8 children who became the victims of a mass shooting in Shreveport on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
On Sunday morning, a tragic incident of mass shooting shocked the community in Shreveport when a gunman opened fire and killed eight children, between the ages of 3 and 11 years old.
The latest incident marks the deadliest mass shooting in a period of over two years.
Louisiana police have identified the gunman as a 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, who shot and killed his seven children and a cousin.
The shooting incident also resulted in wounding two women, including his spouse before the dawn’s first crack in a rampage at least in two locations.
After the shooting, which officials described as “homicide in nature,” the gunman escaped the scene in carjacked vehicle.
As a result of a police chase, the suspect in a crossfire was shot and killed by officers.
The Coroner’s office at the Caddo Parish has confirmed the identities of the victims.
These include Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.
Who was the gunman?
Shamar Elkins spent seven years in the Louisiana Army National Guard. From August 2013 to August 2020, as a signal support system expert and a fire support specialist, per CNN.
Elkins was never stationed and exited the Army in 2020, and their rank at the time of leaving was EI (private).
The outlet also reported Elkins’ past criminal record, as he had two prior criminal convictions in Caddo District Court.
As per the court records, Elkins married Shaneiqua Pugh, 34, about two years ago.
As per NYT, Elkins had a troubled domestic life and a strained relationship with his wife.
In a separate report by AP, which highlighted that the couple was in the middle of a separation and had a heated argument just moments before the shooting.
The shooting is seen as the deadliest in the U.S. since January 2024, when a 23-year-old man shot eight people, most of them his relatives, in a Chicago suburb.
Saturday Night Live veteran Tina Fey reflected on her years at the NBC sketch institution, acknowledging that some of her jokes were “on the wrong side”.
Speaking at the History Talks event in Philadelphia, Fey said she’s realized with time that not every punchline was fair.
The two times Globe Globe winner added candidly, “I was pretty dumb.”
Fey joined SNL in 1997 and later became head writer.
She recalled navigating some of the show’s most difficult broadcasts, from the first episode after September 11 to the anthrax scare and even President George W. Bush’s visit to meet Will Ferrell.
Over time, she said, the line between comedy and current events grew thinner, with politicians and public figures often responding directly to the sketches.
One of her most memorable stretches came in 2008, when she teamed with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler to craft the now iconic Sarah Palin sketches.
Fey explained that the team worked hard to make sure their material was “a fair hit,” grounded in truth rather than random exaggeration.
“If it’s not true, it will not be funny,” she noted.
Reflecting on the influence of SNL, Fey said it was both thrilling and intimidating to know that what she wrote could be taken seriously by people in power.
She emphasized that the show never set out to control politics or the national narrative, but admitted that some of her own jokes didn’t age well.
Fey appeared alongside Nicole Kidman, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Colin Jost and others at the event, which marked the nation’s 250th anniversary.
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