New Zemeckis film used AI to de-age Tom Hanks and Robin Wright
Ars Technica 2024-11-04
On Friday, TriStar Pictures released Here, a $50 million Robert Zemeckis-directed film that used real time generative AI face transformation techniques to portray actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright across a 60-year span, marking one of Hollywood's first full-length features built around AI-powered visual effects.
The film adapts a 2014 graphic novel set primarily in a New Jersey living room across multiple time periods. Rather than cast different actors for various ages, the production used AI to modify Hanks' and Wright's appearances throughout.
The de-aging technology comes from Metaphysic, a visual effects company that creates real time face swapping and aging effects. During filming, the crew watched two monitors simultaneously: one showing the actors' actual appearances and another displaying them at whatever age the scene required.