A $70 million science fiction film has cast Erica, an AI robot, in new sci-fi film ‘b.’
The new feature is financed by Bondit Capital Media – the backers of ‘To the Bone’ and ‘Loving Vincent – will be the first to rely on an AI actor.
Erica was initially created by Japanese engineers Hiroshi Ishiguro and Kohei Ogawa as part of a study of robotics. The pair claim they were then able to teach the ‘her’ the principles of method acting.
Speaking to hollywoodreporter.com Khoze explained that “other methods of acting, actors involve their own life experiences in the role [but] Erica has no life experiences. She was created from scratch to play the role. We had to simulate her motions and emotions through one-on-one sessions, such as controlling the speed of her movements, talking through her feelings and coaching character development and body language..
The robot was originally going to have its first role in a project by American History X’s director Tony Kaye. However, the project never materialised due to scheduling issues.
While neither the director for ‘b’ or its human co-stars have been attached the films produces have already shot some footage of Erica in Japan and expect to complete filming in Europe next June.
