Kurt Russell claims he’s had to “fight studios” since 1979 for control of image amid threat of AI
Kurt Russell has claimed that he has had to “fight studios” since 1979 to retain control of his image, particularly amid the ongoing threat of AI to the film industry.
The veteran actor was appearing on the UK radio show Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden to promote the second series of his TV show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, when he began to discuss how he has seen the threat of AI creeping into Hollywood for decades.
When asked about how technological advancements have changed filmmaking, Russell replied: “Bob [Robert] Zemeckis and I used to talk about this when we did a picture called Used Cars back in 1979. That the day would be coming fairly soon to where I, as an actor, because I am very careful about owning my own image, could sit with the director who has hired me to simply say ‘what can I and can’t I do here and AI will do the rest?’”
Russell subsequently claimed he has had to “fight studios” ever since that time to protect his own image, saying he has predicted the rise of AI and its use in the movie industry.
“Bob Zemeckis and I talked about the fact that you could do representations of you,” he recalled, before adding, “And we are now kind of around the corner. I think it is still easy to kind of tell the difference myself. But the improvements are coming fast and furious and I think it is going to be an interesting thing.”
Despite the potential perils that the use of AI could present to actors, Russell still maintained that the industry is in an “exciting” space, but that he insists on having guardrails to protect himself.
He said: “The thing is that since that time in ‘79, in every one of my contracts I make God damn sure I have control of my image,” adding, “I just said, ‘don’t do that and I’m not doing the movie.’”
Russell’s comments come at a time when the film landscape is becoming increasingly polarised by AI, with Matthew McConaughey recently trademarking his iconic phrase “Alright, alright, alright” against deepfakes, despite being an investor in a company called ElevenLabs which owns an ‘Iconic Voice Marketplace’.
This allows the likenesses of actors both dead and alive, including the likes of Michael Caine and Judy Garland, to be used in AI-generated output within the industry, with the consent of the individuals or their estate.
Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 across the UK and on Global Player.
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