Lisa Kudrow called out Tom Hanks’ latest project as an “endorsement” for artificial intelligence.
The “Friends” alum, 61, slammed “Here” while speaking to “Armchair Expert” podcast listeners last week about the Robert Zemeckis-directed film.
In the movie, which came out in October, Hanks, 68, and his co-star Robin Wright were de-aged to appear younger in certain scenes.
“They shot it, and they could actually shoot the scene and then look at the playback of them as younger, and it’s ready for them to see. All I got from that was, this is an endorsement for AI,” Kudrow explained.
“It’s not like, ‘Oh it’s going to ruin everything,’” the actress clarified. “But what will be left? Forget actors, what about up-and-coming actors? They’ll just be licensing and recycling.”
She went on to ask, “Set that completely aside, what work will there be for human beings? Then what? There’ll be some kind of living stipend for people, you won’t have to work? How can it possibly be enough?”
Hanks made headlines for his views on artificial intelligence multiple times last year.
In May 2023, the Oscar winner noted on the “Adam Buxton Podcast” that his performances “could go on and on” with AI’s help — even after his eventual death.
“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology,” he said at the time. “I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it.”
The “Forrest Gump” star added, “Outside the understanding of AI and deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone. And it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality. That’s certainly an artistic challenge but it’s also a legal one.”
Hanks said that “all of the guilds, all of the agencies and all of the legal firms” were trying to figure out the “legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody else’s being our intellectual property.”
He concluded, “Without a doubt people will be able to tell [that it’s AI], but the question is will they care? There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation.”
Five months later, Hanks clarified to his Instagram followers that an AI-generated version of himself was promoting a dental plan on the app.
“I have nothing to do with it,” he confirmed, advising social media users to “beware.”
Other celebrities have discussed AI within the industry, with Arnold Schwarzenegger calling “The Terminator” movie a “reality” in a July 2023 event.
That December, Ice-T exclusively told Page Six that he is open to “potentially act[ing] forever” with AI, joking, “A future AI version of me would be better than me, [but] I’d worry if it could f–k.”