AI in Hollywood: failure is part of the plan
An AI-generated German film dub is so embarrassingly bad that Amazon takes it offline. Elsewhere, an AI actress lands her first leading role. Put these two isolated cases together, and you’ll see the direction Hollywood is currently heading in.
«Love you.» – «I know.» – «Go away.»
This is what an emotional rollercoaster ride of a drama sounds like when it’s dubbed by AI. The film Deadly Patient, released on Amazon Prime via the third-party service Prime Video Direct, is supposed to tell the story of a doctor who’s being stalked by a patient. What German-speaking audiences got out of it, however, was something else entirely – a grammatical-error-ridden, wooden-voiced dub that was so unintentionally funny that lines like «I should be died» ended up going viral on social media.
Amazon pumped the brakes and took the film offline on Monday. Shortly afterwards, a Prime Video spokesperson confirmed to industry magazine DWDL what everyone had already noticed: «The German dubbing of the film did not meet Prime Video’s quality standards. The film will be unavailable on Prime Video until further notice.»
Until further notice. So rather than turning away from AI dubbing altogether, Amazon is simply doing so in this – particularly embarrassing – isolated case. The subtle but crucial nuance in its statement to DWDL? The response addressed the quality of the AI dub, not the concept of AI dubbing in general. German-speaking voice actors have spent months fighting AI clauses in their contracts that would permit studios to use their voices to train AI. Now, the Deadly Patient debacle has unwittingly given these actors ammunition: «See? This is what your dub will sound like if you replace us with an algorithm.»
None of the scorn and ridicule directed at Deadly Patient is slowing the surge in AI-generated content. In fact, another story that unfolded around the same time illustrates just how persistent it is.
Tilly Norwood lands her first lead role
While Amazon was making a fool of itself with a failed AI dub, AI studio Particle6 announced a new milestone: Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actor, is set to take on her first leading role in the comedy-drama Misaligned. The film is a hybrid production involving both traditional filmmakers and AI specialists.
Whatever that means.
Tilly Norwood’s origins are well documented. As a reminder, SAG-AFTRA, the US actors’ union, has made it clear that Norwood is capitalising on the unpaid work of countless real performers – without permission or compensation. Norwood’s creator, Eline van der Velden, has been very open about her ambitions for the AI actor:
«We want Tilly to become the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.»
The reason an AI-generated actor like Tilly Norwood even stands a chance is that Hollywood is in the midst of a serious crisis. Production costs for big-budget films have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, while cinema audiences are dwindling.
There are two main drivers behind this. Firstly, a night at the cinema can easily cost more than a whole month’s streaming subscription. Secondly, the theatrical window – the period during which a film is shown exclusively in cinemas, before becoming available on streaming platforms – is narrowing. So if you’re keen to get in on the discussion around a particular film, you no longer have to wait half a year for the DVD release. These days, one month is usually long enough. Maybe two. If there’s even a theatrical window at all.
Studios are responding the way studios always do, with even more sequels, prequels and franchises that people are familiar with and, hopefully, want to see. Everything else is shelved in order to minimise risk.
The most honest argument in support of this assessment comes from Van der Velden herself. She offers production companies the opportunity to save 20 to 30 per cent of their budgets by using AI-generated shots, including during establishing shots, cutaways or elaborate individual sequences. This supposedly gives small, creative studios the chance to compete with the major players, encouraging innovation across the industry as a whole.
As nice as that sounds, it also sounds like a foot in the door that’s almost impossible to pull out once it’s in. And where exactly do you draw the line? At what point will there be more lay-offs than newly created jobs? This is the very logic connecting Tilly Norwood and Deadly Patient. In both cases, the primary concern isn’t finding the best creative solution, but rather cutting production costs and subsequently minimising risk. That’s the real argument.
The real strategy behind the AI offensive
Deadly Patient may be today’s failure, but today isn’t forever. Amazon hasn’t said it’ll stop using AI dubbing in the future. It’s merely stated that this particular dub was subpar. The technology will still be available – it’ll just need to sound more convincing next time around.
Tilly Norwood displays the same unwavering determination. Although actors and unions have been up in arms about AI for months, an AI performer has still landed a lead role. For studio executives, the factors that really count seem to go beyond mere social media outrage: numbers, risk management and the prospect of a star who never goes on strike or tries to negotiate a better salary. When the hullabaloo quietens down, the project will continue.
«Don’t be left out, don’t fall behind. We can scale, we can grow. It’s the next evolution – can’t you see? AI is not the enemy, it’s the key,» sings Tilly Norwood, making it quite clear what role AI is expected to play in Hollywood in the future.
Ultimately, both incidents point towards the same trend. It’s only a matter of time before barely anyone questions whether something’s AI or not. I’m not saying it’ll happen tomorrow. Maybe it’ll be the next generation – people who’ll grow up with AI-generated music, AI voices and AI content in their social media feeds – who simply won’t know it any other way. In the meantime, AI will occasionally fail, be briefly ridiculed, disappear from a platform for a few days – and then return, more inconspicuous than ever.
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
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