A robot was cast to play the lead role in an upcoming science-fiction flick, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
Erica, an A.I. robot, will star in “b,” which began filming in Japan in 2019.
Bondit Capital Media, which financed “To the Bone” and the Oscar nominated film “Loving Vincent,” teamed up with Belgium-based Happy Moon Productions and New York’s Ten Ten Global Media to back the movie.
The $70 million sci-fi film will be first to rely on an artificially intelligent actor, according to producers.
“b” follows a scientist who discovers dangers associated with a program he created to perfect human DNA. The scientist then helps the artificially intelligent woman he designed, Erica, escape.
Erica was created by Japanese scientists Hiroshi Ishiguro and Kohei Ogawa.They taught her to act by applying the principles of method acting to artificial intelligence, according to filmmaker Sam Khoze, who is involved in the project.
“In other methods of acting, actors involve their own life experiences in the role,” Khoze said. “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.”
Erica was originally scheduled to make her on-screen debut in a different film, but plans fell through.
The director of "b" and the human co-star for Erica have not been named. The rest of the film is expected to be shot in Europe in June of 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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