Alien: Romulus director Fede Alvarez and producer Ridley Scott has confirmed that they used artificial intelligence technology in one specific element of the film and defended their decision. Spoilers ahead!
if you have seen Alien: Romulusthen you know it contains a composite resembling the series’ original robot Ash (Erin), played by the late actor Ian Holm.
Scott said: “Ian Holm suddenly showing up as the company’s airborne robot is a good idea.” It is, but it would be better if the visual effects can work.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Alvarez explained how they brought the robot to life, saying, “We weren’t trying to do something that couldn’t be done, which was to recreate that person’s talent as an actor, because it was It’s another character and the only thing they have in common is similarity.
Combine animatronics with CGI facial enhancements to bring characters to life. The director continued: “Depending on the shots, 80% to 90% are done by puppeteers, so the animatronics have a little more vitality.”
As for the use of artificial intelligence, Alvarez defended the decision to use it but argued it would never replace actors. “We had an actor on set doing dialogue,” he said.
“It’s not like we skipped hiring actors. It would take a team of so many people and so many parts to do, so it’s never going to be convenient.”
I must say that every time the Android Rook appears on the screen, it’s distracting as the visuals don’t look great, especially when the characters speak.
To me, that was the hardest part of the movie. We all know the visual effects could be better, so I’m not sure why they couldn’t pull this off. Everything else in the movie was great!
