Tom Hanks and Robin Wright may look a little younger in director Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming film Here.
The film, which reunites the Forrest Gump co-stars after almost 30 years, will use new hyper-realistic technology, including AI-generated face replacements and anti-aging, to allow the stars to tell a story that spans generations. Based on Richard McGuire’s graphic novel, Here is set in New England — beginning as a wasteland and later becoming a place of home — against a tale of love, loss, hope, struggle and legacy.
Miramax is producing the film, which stars Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly, and will be distributed by Sony Pictures. The upcoming technological advance stems from a partnership between artificial intelligence technology firm Metaphysic and Hollywood agency CAA. The pact, which was announced Tuesday and kicks off production on “Here,” was formed to develop new generative AI tools and services for film, television and other entertainment fields.
“I’ve always been drawn to technology that helps me tell a story,” Zemeckis said in a statement. “With ‘Here’, the film simply wouldn’t have worked without our actors seamlessly transforming into younger versions of themselves. Metaphysic’s AI tools do just that in ways that were previously impossible! Having tested every version of face-swapping and anti-aging technology available today, Metaphysic are definitely the world leaders in high-quality AI content and the perfect choice for this incredibly challenging, emotional film.”
Metaphysic was first introduced to the public in 2022 during an episode of “America’s Got Talent” in which a photorealistic avatar of Elvis sang on stage. The performance caught the attention of creatives at CAA and Miramax, who believed the technology could unlock new opportunities in Hollywood.
“Metaphysic are industry leaders in using generative AI and machine learning to create photorealistic, Hollywood-quality content, combined with their ethics-first approach and thought leadership, they are unlocking incredible opportunity for the entertainment industry and beyond,” said Joanna Popper, CEO of Metaverse at GVA. “Artificial intelligence will have a transformative impact on content creation and intellectual property. CAA has always been at the forefront of new technological frontiers and we are excited to work with Metaphysic to deliver the most exciting opportunities to our customers and the industry.”
The new technology being implemented in “Here” is called Metaphysics Live. The tool creates high-resolution photorealistic face swaps and anti-aging effects on actors’ performances live and in real-time, without the need for additional compositing or VFX work. According to a press release, “the streaming of AI-generated photorealistic content that morphs onto real-world scenes at up to 30 frames per second is a dramatic advance in technology that will be essential to the creation of immersive AR/VR, games and entertainment experiences. ”
Kevin Bailey, Here’s visual effects production supervisor, says: “Actors can even use the technology as a ‘youth mirror’ – trying out acting choices for their younger selves in real time. This feedback and youthful performance is absolutely necessary to achieve an authentic, delightful result.”
For Metaphysic, the hope is to continue to expand the realm of what’s possible on screen.
“Our tools are cost-effective, film-quality and scalable – we’re being forced to rethink the way visual media is created,” said Thomas Graham, CEO and co-founder of Metaphysic. “With the support of CAA and working on projects like ‘Here,’ Metaphysic is demonstrating the transformative power of hyperreal AI to shape the future of entertainment and ultimately help people create AI-generated photorealistic immersive content while they own and control your data.”