It seems like any time a younger version of a character appears on screen, we can’t help but immediately compare with the one we’re more familiar with. How often have you said, “That looks nothing like them!”? And while digital de-aging can be done to achieve the desired outcome (depending on the age gap), modern technology has offered yet another way: yes, we’re talking about artificial intelligence. And that’s just what was used to get Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Brown in Furiosa to match as closely as possible.
Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show (via Variety), Anya Taylor-Joy said that Furiosa presented the opportunity for the filmmakers to try something out. “George Miller had the idea very early on. The audience was already getting used to a new Furiosa,” referring to herself taking over the role as a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character. “He wanted the transition from both actors [herself and Browne] playing her to be seamless. And so I did two days of the craziest things you could ever possibly imagine. And they mixed our faces together.” As for when and how often AI was used, Taylor-Joy noted that the beginning of the movie uses around 35% of her features on Brown while it hits upwards of 80% before the complete transition.
So, why didn’t Miller just de-age Theron’s Furiosa and ditch Anya Taylor-Joy altogether? That was actually on the table, but the director didn’t see it being as effective. “It definitely would have been Charlize. I began thinking, ‘Oh, maybe we could do de-aging.’ Then I watched really masterful filmmakers like Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese, doing Gemini Man and The Irishman, and I saw that it hadn’t been licked. All you’d be watching is, ‘Look how well the technology works?’ It would not have been persuasive.”
Of course, it seems like any use of artificial intelligence within the movie business immediately raises questions and eyebrows from viewers. But Anya Taylor-Joy is making a point of being transparent with how it was used in Furiosa, adding, “There’s a reason that our industry went on strike. It is something that is frightening, and I think if you’re going to use it you have to be honest about it and it always has to be consensual. It’s the lack of consent in anything in life that is the scary thing.”
Do you think the use of AI in Furiosa was effective? Did you even notice it? Let us know below.
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