AI criticised in film industry but cloned voices could become as common as stunt doubles, says technology expert
For Hollywood A-listers, having a cloned voice double could become as common as having a stunt double, an AI expert has told Sky News.
While both the BAFTAs and Oscars annually celebrate craftsmanship and creativity, off-screen this award season a battle for votes has played out with some industry voices critical of the seemingly secretive way in which the technology is being deployed.
Brady Corbet, the director of 10-time Oscar nominee The Brutalist, has found himself having to clarify to Deadline how actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones “worked for months” with a dialect coach “to perfect their accents” – but that artificial intelligence was also used in post-production to ensure a cleaner edit of some of their Hungarian vowel sounds.
Emilia Perez, A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two have also been drawn into the debate for using AI in some way.
While on the other side of the debate, Hugh Grant‘s horror Heretic provocatively declared on its end credits: “No generative AI was used in the making of this film.”
Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones star in The Brutalist. Pic: Rex/ Everett/Shutterstock
‘Horrendous’ dubbing may be a thing of the past
Ausrine Skarnulyte, the chief executive of an AI company called Voice-Swap, said the film industry needed to understand “the genie is out of the bottle”.
“We’re seeing increased adoption across the film and TV industry even though at the moment no one’s really talking about it, at least not as loudly as they would like to admit.”
“Voice doubles is essentially where the technology is going,” she insisted.
Not only would allowing their voice to be officially cloned for a project potentially save actors time, but crucially it could save studios money.
Ausrine Skarnulyte, from Voice-Swap, spoke to Sky’s Katie Spencer
Skarnulyte said: “Any sound engineer with access to official AI voice models can then do post-production edits when the actor is not in the studio, without needing them to come back and re-record lines.”
According to Skarnulyte, who is originally from Lithuania, another benefit is how it transforms dubbing a film into a different language.
“I grew up watching Steven Spielberg, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger 80s action movies, and the narration itself… the dubbing was horrendous.
“With this technology, we could build Antonio Banderas’ voice to speak in any language… it serves so that you could mimic someone’s natural voice pretty easily.”
Pic: AP
Sky correspondent’s AI voice experience
How quickly can it be done? In less than a day, using a 45-minute recording of my speech, the team at Voice-Swap were able to create a basic AI version of me.
It is an unsettling experience to hear myself suddenly fluent in Lithuanian. The timbre and tone of what they demo sounds just like me and even has, I’m told, a slight British lilt to keep things authentic.
Mastering even the basics of a language for an actor, like this, would take months – this has required zero learning on my part.
Katie Spencer spoke some words in Lithuanian and then compared her voice to a basic AI version of her speech
While some may assume it instantly puts out of work those who’ve made careers out of redubbing stars for different territories, that actually isn’t the case.
Skarnulyte explained that she used recordings of herself speaking Lithuanian and then voice-to-voice AI conversion, effectively grafting my voice onto hers.
Establishing the boundaries, she said, is most important.
“You need to make sure that it’s used within the professional setting, that there is clear attribution in place, that there is transparent data set.”
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Opposition to growing AI influence
But not everyone is convinced that the pros outweigh the cons.
Actor John Magaro, who stars in the Munich Olympics thriller September 5, said the creeping influence of AI is “a frightening thing”.
He told Sky News earlier this year: “I wouldn’t encourage anyone to become an actor nowadays. It’s daunting, I don’t know where it’s heading.”
Actor John Magaro. Pic: Reuters
According to industry publication Variety, declaring what AI is in your film will be mandatory at next year’s Oscars.
“There’s talk of putting in a requirement that you have to disclose your use of AI, which is not a bad idea,” deputy awards and features editor Jenelle Riley told Sky News.
She added: “We disclose everything: no animals were harmed on set, we list all of the artists who worked on a movie…as long as everyone is transparent and it’s ok with the actors and everyone involved then AI can be a really useful tool.”
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For Hollywood A-listers, having a cloned voice double could become as common as having a stunt double, an AI expert has told Sky News.
From visual effects to script analysis, AI is already being used within the industry.
While that might be scary for some, those who are working with AI argue it needs to be seen as a collaborator, not a competitor, in the creative process.
As Skarnulyte explained: “This is where we need to define the relationship between the tech and the creative industries.
“AI is already here and now it’s just a matter of time – we either take it into our hands and we control it, or it will control us.”
Laura Whitmore has shared the last text messages between her and Caroline Flack on the five-year anniversary of her death.
Flack, who was best known for presenting ITV’s Love Island, took her own life on 15 February 2020, aged 40.
The Irish TV presenter shared a photo of the pair together, along with a series of screenshots of their WhatsApp conversation, in which she told Flack she had been offered the Love Island presenting role.
In the messages, Flack said it was “perfect” that Whitmore would be doing the show alongside her husband Iain Stirling, who narrates the series, and followed up the message with a series of love hearts.
Flack hosted the reality dating show between 2015 and 2019. Whitmore took over in 2020. Maya Jama stepped into the role in 2023.
In her Instagram post, Whitmore, 39, said: “I got a new phone this month and as I was trying to download WhatsApp messages from my cloud loads of old messages came up.
“Ones I thought I lost a few years ago and no longer had. It really hit me hard.
“Looking at messages I’ve never publicly shared as they were private messages. Media outlets wrote a lot far from the actual truth.
“I think they show a side to Caroline which is nice to remember. Hence I’m sharing now.”
Pic: PA
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Whitmore said she had met Flack when she took over hosting duties for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! NOW!.
“She was as supportive of me doing that role back then as she was when she supported me doing Love Island in 2020,” she said.
“Both were great shows with hundreds of people working on them and relying on the show going ahead.
“I will always be so thankful of the last messages between me and Caroline.”
She continued: “Every time I’ve been asked to speak about the situation or be part of a documentary I decline.
“I’ve already said all I can say on the tragedy and don’t want words to be misconstrued and need to look after my own mental health.
“This was the last correspondence I ever had with her.”
“The last message from her to me were love hearts,” she said.
“I’d like to think wherever she is now, she’s at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped.
“I’m sad when I see the press and social media be so divisive and that we still haven’t learned from Caroline’s treatment before her death when it comes to women in the spotlight.
“Today I choose to remember these messages and thank the cloud for giving them back to me.”
Caroline Flack pictured on Valentine’s Day 2020. Pic: @molliegroz
Flack’s family previously released an unpublished Instagram post she had written describing the stress of her arrest for common assault, while her former boyfriend Danny Cipriani also shared their final messages.
A friend also shared her “final photo” taken just hours before her death.
After Flack’s death a coroner ruled she took her own life after learning prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge over an incident involving her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Born in Enfield, Flack got her first TV break playing Bubbles on comedy sketch show Bo Selecta alongside Leigh Francis, before fronting the International Pepsi Chart Show and moving on to Channel 4’s E4 Music.
She later hosted Big Brother’s Little Brother, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here and X Factor, going on to win Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.
An upcoming Disney+ documentary follows Flack’s mother as she tries to understand events in the final months of her daughter’s life, while also celebrating her career.
Christine Flack unveiled a suicide prevention bench in north London last September in honour of her daughter.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Entertainment
Sources close to Stormzy say ‘Free Palestine’ Instagram post was not deleted because of rapper’s work with McDonald’s
Stormzy did not delete an Instagram post in support of Palestinian liberation because of his recent collaboration with McDonald’s, sources close to the rapper have told Sky News.
The 31-year-old grime artist has faced a backlash for removing an old post that said “Free Palestine” after working on a campaign with the fast-food chain.
But sources close to the Vossi Bop rapper exclusively told Sky News that it “is simply not true” that the “archiving” of his Instagram post and the release of the McDonald’s campaign are linked.
Stormzy’s recent McDonald’s partnership packages his “go-to” order as a limited meal option, which the chain has dubbed “The Stormzy Meal” – containing chicken nuggets, fries, BBQ sauce, a Sprite drink, and an Oreo McFlurry.
Stormzy’s collaboration with McDonald’s has caused much controversy with fans – and has been dubbed ‘hypocritical’. Pic: McDonald’s
Critics of Israel called for a global boycott of McDonald’s last year, when McDonald’s Israel announced it donated thousands of free meals to Israel Defence Forces troops fighting in Gaza.
The campaign, led by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, dented sales at McDonald’s.
Rapper Stormzy performing at Glastonbury in 2019, wearing a bulletproof vest designed by Banksy. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
The deletion of Stormzy’s “Free Palestine” post was part of a “mass archiving effort” last year, the sources close to him add.
They said it was “categorically not” linked to his involvement with McDonald’s.
Sky News has contacted McDonald’s for comment.
Stormzy’s 2018 performance at The Brit Awards was dedicated to the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
The now-removed Instagram post read: “I hope everyone is good, some fleeting thoughts.
“1. Free Palestine
“2. In the future, if there is ever a clear injustice in the world, no matter how big or small, 100 times out of 100 I will be on the side of the oppressed. Unequivocally. As I always have been. Social media is a brilliant way to stand up for what is right, there are also a whole load of other ways to do this.”
After the post was deleted, many of Stormzy’s fans shared that they were “disappointed” by the rapper’s “hypocrisy”.
One person on X criticised Stormzy’s McDonald’s campaign, writing it was done “for a bit of money that you don’t even need”. They added: “You deleted this post to do a McDonald’s commercial.”
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding member of the BDS movement, said: “Stormzy’s call for Palestinian freedom in the early stages of Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, when few artists were speaking out, displayed a clear stance in support of all oppressed people.”
But it added: “Partnering with corporations that are implicated in genocide, apartheid and military occupation can only whitewash those crimes.”
In an open letter to Stormzy, the Peace and Justice Project – founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2021 – also said his work with McDonald’s is “hugely disappointing, especially given the musician’s otherwise proud and solid record in supporting great causes and campaigns for social justice”.
The group added: “We are therefore asking Stormzy to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their hour of need and respect the BDS committee’s call for a global boycott of McDonald’s by ending his new partnership with them.”
Indonesians boycotting McDonald’s in the country in November 2023. Pic: AP
Much of Gaza lies in ruins after Israel’s war to destroy Hamas.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage when Hamas launched its massacre in Israel on 7 October 2023.
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Stormzy has previously supported several social justice issues – including launching a scholarship to help Black students access top universities and dedicating his Brit Award performance in 2018 to the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
His Instagram biography tags pro-Palestine rapper Lowkey – inviting fans to click on his account and learn about activists’ calls for Palestinian liberation.
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