April 3, 2026
The Val Kilmer AI Project (GT Mini)
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An iconic actor lives on in the digital afterlife.
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WEBVTT
00:00.031 --> 00:05.012
[SPEAKER_01]: Beyond the grave, I'm Jason Horton, I'm Rebecca Leib, and this is Ghost Town.
00:20.112 --> 00:27.047
[SPEAKER_00]: talked a lot about Vel Kilmer on this podcast, especially his movie The Island of Dr. Morrow, and I want to talk about him again.
00:27.087 --> 00:35.224
[SPEAKER_00]: Because an artificial intelligence version of the actor who died last year will start in the new independent film as deep as the grave.
00:35.485 --> 00:36.046
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you heard of this?
00:36.407 --> 00:37.108
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
00:37.088 --> 00:58.498
[SPEAKER_01]: I like progress as much as the next person, but just I think it's also because he it's not like he was doing like a lot like he is a great body of work But in the in the last years he wasn't doing a lot and I really like that The top top gun and top gun Maverick yeah his performance in that.
00:58.518 --> 01:01.662
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought that was really good And I think that's really to close the book
01:01.642 --> 01:04.786
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and they had a documentary and stuff like that.
01:04.986 --> 01:06.268
[SPEAKER_01]: I just watched him on entourage.
01:06.308 --> 01:08.511
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing the rewatch of entourage because I am lost.
01:09.352 --> 01:10.213
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a lost individual.
01:10.233 --> 01:10.794
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm on the island.
01:10.834 --> 01:11.835
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm on the island.
01:13.597 --> 01:14.599
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but leave it alone.
01:14.899 --> 01:15.840
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, just let him be.
01:15.860 --> 01:16.942
[SPEAKER_01]: Unless you're going to talk me out of it.
01:17.182 --> 01:20.987
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to talk to you about it and then we'll draw some new conclusions.
01:21.127 --> 01:21.527
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
01:21.547 --> 01:22.789
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
01:22.769 --> 01:31.481
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Kilmer was cast in the role of Father Fintin before his death, but wasn't able to do any filming because of his battle with throat cancer, so they created their own Val Kilmer.
01:31.842 --> 01:42.216
[SPEAKER_00]: This new AI Val Kilmer will appear in a, quote, significant part of the film, which is based on a true story about two archaeologists, excavations and Arizona's Canyon of the Dead.
01:42.516 --> 01:47.443
[SPEAKER_00]: It stars Abigail Laurie, Tom Felton, West-Studian, Abigail Brezlin.
01:47.980 --> 01:52.927
[SPEAKER_00]: So the director commented on this, saying he was the actor I wanted to play this role.
01:53.067 --> 01:54.809
[SPEAKER_00]: His name is Corté Voorhees.
01:54.989 --> 01:56.592
[SPEAKER_00]: He told Variety in a quote.
01:57.132 --> 01:58.734
[SPEAKER_00]: It was very much designed around him.
01:58.995 --> 02:02.860
[SPEAKER_00]: It drew on his native American heritage and his ties and love of the Southwest.
02:04.021 --> 02:11.051
[SPEAKER_00]: The AI version of Kilmer was created using images of the actor when he was younger, film of him in his last years and his voice.
02:11.952 --> 02:14.916
[SPEAKER_00]: And like you, many people are not happy about this.
02:15.571 --> 02:18.095
[SPEAKER_00]: quote did he say he was cool with this kind of thing before he died?
02:18.135 --> 02:20.880
[SPEAKER_00]: If not, probably a gross thing to do one person wrote on X.
02:21.280 --> 02:26.629
[SPEAKER_00]: Another said if it was just a quick cameo like Paul Walker in Furious 7 after his death, that would be, quote, fine.
02:27.190 --> 02:32.138
[SPEAKER_00]: But, quote, if it's an actual role with speaking parts, then what is the actual use of acting?
02:33.079 --> 02:38.368
[SPEAKER_00]: A third comment to wrote, quote, in Hollywood, when you die, they resurrect you with AI and force you to keep working.
02:40.070 --> 02:40.431
[SPEAKER_00]: OK.
02:42.082 --> 03:10.671
[SPEAKER_01]: he really wants to do the film okay does that change things for you i mean the fact that he was actually connected to the film if i believe but the director who has a reason to be vouching for him in his connection to the film of course right but is it a thing was like oh yeah i i i i i i got a passing email from velkheimer saying yeah maybe i'll think about it or was he like elison i i i sat down i read it i love it i want to do this film i mean people can make more out of something
03:10.651 --> 03:11.853
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, our interactions.
03:12.694 --> 03:20.705
[SPEAKER_01]: If we believe people can do that, is it possible that he was like, yeah, I'm taking this little germ of the thing and making it like, oh, he was signed out like he was loving.
03:21.046 --> 03:22.568
[SPEAKER_01]: You may have wanted him to do it.
03:22.748 --> 03:23.650
[SPEAKER_01]: Of course you did.
03:23.670 --> 03:24.331
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
03:24.591 --> 03:32.322
[SPEAKER_01]: And here's the thing is, you know, it's, is this, the fact that we're talking about this movie right now,
03:32.302 --> 03:42.677
[SPEAKER_01]: Giving it like the promotion that didn't need like that he's kind of like yeah He was gonna do it, but like no one was gonna watch my stupid movie Yeah, now we're gonna watch more people here.
03:42.817 --> 03:53.191
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm curious and again, I I think for me the tipping point is like yeah How interested probably not that much, but also like are we talking a couple lines?
03:53.392 --> 03:54.373
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the significant role?
03:54.393 --> 03:55.014
[SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean?
03:55.054 --> 04:01.583
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure for the director or you know the studio whoever's making money off of this movie They want it to be as much as possible because it's going to be
04:01.563 --> 04:09.331
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, such a large thing, post-teamists AI us, you know, us talking about just the novelty of it, I guess.
04:09.391 --> 04:12.974
[SPEAKER_01]: If they already had filmed some stuff and they were like, oh, we didn't get some of the scenes.
04:13.054 --> 04:18.159
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd be like, okay, well, at least there's, but it seems kind of like, oh, yeah, trust me, you know, trust me, bro.
04:18.600 --> 04:25.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, yeah, he was, he wanted to do this and you know what I mean, if it's just not for him not being around, he would still be doing it.
04:26.127 --> 04:28.009
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably he still probably wouldn't be doing it.
04:27.989 --> 04:34.517
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's, even if Valkimer was alive right now, he probably still wouldn't be doing it.
04:34.537 --> 04:36.160
[SPEAKER_00]: You wouldn't be like, this is my next Batman.
04:36.200 --> 04:37.722
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go, you know.
04:37.742 --> 04:38.663
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I know what you're thinking.
04:39.264 --> 04:40.445
[SPEAKER_00]: What is his IMDB?
04:40.706 --> 04:41.246
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm saying.
04:42.087 --> 04:46.333
[SPEAKER_00]: And moving forward, if this continues to happen, how will actors be credited?
04:46.393 --> 04:48.115
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the financial portion of it?
04:48.656 --> 04:51.379
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't speak that financial part, but it did cross my mind.
04:51.640 --> 04:54.063
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't speak to the financial part, but it did cross my mind.
04:54.343 --> 04:57.287
[SPEAKER_00]: The IMDB thing I can answer.
04:57.267 --> 05:07.585
[SPEAKER_00]: On the IMDB page for the film, Kilmer's role is credited as quote, a digital performer, specifying that it is a quote, AI performance as well, Kilmer, which is also even sadder.
05:07.826 --> 05:08.547
[SPEAKER_00]: It's even sadder.
05:08.787 --> 05:13.355
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we just close the book on him in a way that I thought was really great?
05:13.375 --> 05:14.818
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, maybe that's just my selfish.
05:14.838 --> 05:15.980
[SPEAKER_00]: Mm.
05:16.000 --> 05:18.545
[SPEAKER_00]: No, nobody gets an honorable send off.
05:18.565 --> 05:18.825
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
05:18.965 --> 05:19.967
[SPEAKER_00]: In Hollywood.
00:00.031 --> 00:05.012
[SPEAKER_01]: Beyond the grave, I'm Jason Horton, I'm Rebecca Leib, and this is Ghost Town.
00:20.112 --> 00:27.047
[SPEAKER_00]: talked a lot about Vel Kilmer on this podcast, especially his movie The Island of Dr. Morrow, and I want to talk about him again.
00:27.087 --> 00:35.224
[SPEAKER_00]: Because an artificial intelligence version of the actor who died last year will start in the new independent film as deep as the grave.
00:35.485 --> 00:36.046
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you heard of this?
00:36.407 --> 00:37.108
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
00:37.088 --> 00:58.498
[SPEAKER_01]: I like progress as much as the next person, but just I think it's also because he it's not like he was doing like a lot like he is a great body of work But in the in the last years he wasn't doing a lot and I really like that The top top gun and top gun Maverick yeah his performance in that.
00:58.518 --> 01:01.662
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought that was really good And I think that's really to close the book
01:01.642 --> 01:04.786
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and they had a documentary and stuff like that.
01:04.986 --> 01:06.268
[SPEAKER_01]: I just watched him on entourage.
01:06.308 --> 01:08.511
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing the rewatch of entourage because I am lost.
01:09.352 --> 01:10.213
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a lost individual.
01:10.233 --> 01:10.794
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm on the island.
01:10.834 --> 01:11.835
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm on the island.
01:13.597 --> 01:14.599
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but leave it alone.
01:14.899 --> 01:15.840
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, just let him be.
01:15.860 --> 01:16.942
[SPEAKER_01]: Unless you're going to talk me out of it.
01:17.182 --> 01:20.987
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to talk to you about it and then we'll draw some new conclusions.
01:21.127 --> 01:21.527
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
01:21.547 --> 01:22.789
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
01:22.769 --> 01:31.481
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Kilmer was cast in the role of Father Fintin before his death, but wasn't able to do any filming because of his battle with throat cancer, so they created their own Val Kilmer.
01:31.842 --> 01:42.216
[SPEAKER_00]: This new AI Val Kilmer will appear in a, quote, significant part of the film, which is based on a true story about two archaeologists, excavations and Arizona's Canyon of the Dead.
01:42.516 --> 01:47.443
[SPEAKER_00]: It stars Abigail Laurie, Tom Felton, West-Studian, Abigail Brezlin.
01:47.980 --> 01:52.927
[SPEAKER_00]: So the director commented on this, saying he was the actor I wanted to play this role.
01:53.067 --> 01:54.809
[SPEAKER_00]: His name is Corté Voorhees.
01:54.989 --> 01:56.592
[SPEAKER_00]: He told Variety in a quote.
01:57.132 --> 01:58.734
[SPEAKER_00]: It was very much designed around him.
01:58.995 --> 02:02.860
[SPEAKER_00]: It drew on his native American heritage and his ties and love of the Southwest.
02:04.021 --> 02:11.051
[SPEAKER_00]: The AI version of Kilmer was created using images of the actor when he was younger, film of him in his last years and his voice.
02:11.952 --> 02:14.916
[SPEAKER_00]: And like you, many people are not happy about this.
02:15.571 --> 02:18.095
[SPEAKER_00]: quote did he say he was cool with this kind of thing before he died?
02:18.135 --> 02:20.880
[SPEAKER_00]: If not, probably a gross thing to do one person wrote on X.
02:21.280 --> 02:26.629
[SPEAKER_00]: Another said if it was just a quick cameo like Paul Walker in Furious 7 after his death, that would be, quote, fine.
02:27.190 --> 02:32.138
[SPEAKER_00]: But, quote, if it's an actual role with speaking parts, then what is the actual use of acting?
02:33.079 --> 02:38.368
[SPEAKER_00]: A third comment to wrote, quote, in Hollywood, when you die, they resurrect you with AI and force you to keep working.
02:40.070 --> 02:40.431
[SPEAKER_00]: OK.
02:42.082 --> 03:10.671
[SPEAKER_01]: he really wants to do the film okay does that change things for you i mean the fact that he was actually connected to the film if i believe but the director who has a reason to be vouching for him in his connection to the film of course right but is it a thing was like oh yeah i i i i i i got a passing email from velkheimer saying yeah maybe i'll think about it or was he like elison i i i sat down i read it i love it i want to do this film i mean people can make more out of something
03:10.651 --> 03:11.853
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, our interactions.
03:12.694 --> 03:20.705
[SPEAKER_01]: If we believe people can do that, is it possible that he was like, yeah, I'm taking this little germ of the thing and making it like, oh, he was signed out like he was loving.
03:21.046 --> 03:22.568
[SPEAKER_01]: You may have wanted him to do it.
03:22.748 --> 03:23.650
[SPEAKER_01]: Of course you did.
03:23.670 --> 03:24.331
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
03:24.591 --> 03:32.322
[SPEAKER_01]: And here's the thing is, you know, it's, is this, the fact that we're talking about this movie right now,
03:32.302 --> 03:42.677
[SPEAKER_01]: Giving it like the promotion that didn't need like that he's kind of like yeah He was gonna do it, but like no one was gonna watch my stupid movie Yeah, now we're gonna watch more people here.
03:42.817 --> 03:53.191
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm curious and again, I I think for me the tipping point is like yeah How interested probably not that much, but also like are we talking a couple lines?
03:53.392 --> 03:54.373
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the significant role?
03:54.393 --> 03:55.014
[SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean?
03:55.054 --> 04:01.583
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure for the director or you know the studio whoever's making money off of this movie They want it to be as much as possible because it's going to be
04:01.563 --> 04:09.331
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, such a large thing, post-teamists AI us, you know, us talking about just the novelty of it, I guess.
04:09.391 --> 04:12.974
[SPEAKER_01]: If they already had filmed some stuff and they were like, oh, we didn't get some of the scenes.
04:13.054 --> 04:18.159
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd be like, okay, well, at least there's, but it seems kind of like, oh, yeah, trust me, you know, trust me, bro.
04:18.600 --> 04:25.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, yeah, he was, he wanted to do this and you know what I mean, if it's just not for him not being around, he would still be doing it.
04:26.127 --> 04:28.009
[SPEAKER_01]: Probably he still probably wouldn't be doing it.
04:27.989 --> 04:34.517
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's, even if Valkimer was alive right now, he probably still wouldn't be doing it.
04:34.537 --> 04:36.160
[SPEAKER_00]: You wouldn't be like, this is my next Batman.
04:36.200 --> 04:37.722
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go, you know.
04:37.742 --> 04:38.663
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I know what you're thinking.
04:39.264 --> 04:40.445
[SPEAKER_00]: What is his IMDB?
04:40.706 --> 04:41.246
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm saying.
04:42.087 --> 04:46.333
[SPEAKER_00]: And moving forward, if this continues to happen, how will actors be credited?
04:46.393 --> 04:48.115
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the financial portion of it?
04:48.656 --> 04:51.379
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't speak that financial part, but it did cross my mind.
04:51.640 --> 04:54.063
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't speak to the financial part, but it did cross my mind.
04:54.343 --> 04:57.287
[SPEAKER_00]: The IMDB thing I can answer.
04:57.267 --> 05:07.585
[SPEAKER_00]: On the IMDB page for the film, Kilmer's role is credited as quote, a digital performer, specifying that it is a quote, AI performance as well, Kilmer, which is also even sadder.
05:07.826 --> 05:08.547
[SPEAKER_00]: It's even sadder.
05:08.787 --> 05:13.355
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we just close the book on him in a way that I thought was really great?
05:13.375 --> 05:14.818
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, maybe that's just my selfish.
05:14.838 --> 05:15.980
[SPEAKER_00]: Mm.
05:16.000 --> 05:18.545
[SPEAKER_00]: No, nobody gets an honorable send off.
05:18.565 --> 05:18.825
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
05:18.965 --> 05:19.967
[SPEAKER_00]: In Hollywood.
